By Aaron Recuenco
The Philippine National Police (PNP) appeared to have been inspired by multi-media queen Kris Aquino in her tiff with government propagandist and Communications Assistant Secretary Mocha Uson as the police force vowed to fight with truth the news being spread in the social media about the peace and order situation in the country.
PNP (Manila Bulletin)
While he admits that the PNP has the capability to track down the sources of fake news, PNP spokesman Senior Supt. Benigno Durana said they will only focus their counter-action by spreading the truth and factual information about the crime situation in the country.
“Just recently, there were fake news that there have been a series of robbery on restaurants. Three of those, however, turned out to be fake news,” said Durana.
“We have the capability to track the source of these fake news and necessary interventions are now being done in order to provide the people the truth that they deserve,” he added.
By intervention, Durana said that it is not about a crackdown on the source but to fight the fake news with truthful and factual information.
Security officials have been saying that the spread of fake news about the security situation in the country has been causing alarm and panic on the people.
The PNP has a unit that focuses on crime committed via the internet—the Anti-Cybercrime Group or ACG.
Such capability to track down netizens appeared to have been proven when PNP chief Director General Oscar Albayalde has ordered for the identification of his bashers on Facebook.
Eighteen of the 23 policemen identified who attacked Albayalde when he was still the Metro Manila top cop were already re-assigned to Sulu.
“We have the means to know and our only intervention is that we give you the right answers based on real data,” said Durana.
“In this age of and days of fake news, what you will hear from the Philippine National Police is nothing but the truth,” he added.
The PNP, however, has been at the receiving end of criticisms in the social media by netizens who have been questioning the data and its claims that all the more than 4,300 suspected drug suspects killed in police operations indeed fought back.
Citing the case of Kian delos Santos who was shot dead by Caloocan City cops and was planted with a gun to make it appear that he fought back, netizens express doubt on the police’s nanlaban (fight back) claims.
The PNP’s declaration of fighting fake news with truth came amid the social media buzz about the challenge of Kris Aquino to Mocha Uson for a faceoff—the incident stemmed from Uson’s posting of a woman kissing Ninoy Aquino hours before he was assassinated to defend President Duterte’s kiss on a woman in South Korea.
Kris, in defense of his father, was quoted saying that there is always a time to fight back and slap the truth right on the face of those spreading fake news.