Palace assails 'salary deduction' memo to raise fund for Turkey

Malacañang over the weekend denounced a fake memorandum claiming that government employees would have two days worth of pay deducted from their salaries to provide relief for Turkey and Syria.

In an advisory made through the Office Gazette social media page, Malacañang said neither the Office of the President nor the Office of the Executive Secretary have issued such a memorandum circular.

“Government officials and employees are hereby advised to practice precaution and to observe vigilance against these deceptive information,” the advisory read.

This comes as a copy of a fake memorandum circulated online, claiming that the salary deduction will be used “to extend maximum support to Turkish government and people.”

Earlier, Malacañang belied the existence of such a memo.

The memo, titled "TWO DAYS SALARY DEDUCTION FOR THE MONTH MARCH 2023 FROM ALL GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES FOR PRESIDENT RELIEF FUND FOR TURKEY AND SYRIA" claimed that an earthquake relief fund had been opened and this would be financed by a two-day salary deduction from all officers and officials working "under the Federal Government" and "Officers/Officials of Civil and Armed Forces."

Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin allegedly signed the memo. 

A Philippine delegation has joined search and rescue operations in Turkey and Syria, which suffered a 7.8-magnitude earthquake earlier this month. —LBG, GMA Integrated News