By Armando Fenequito Jr.
DAVAO CITY – Mayor Sara Z. Duterte has asked the Philippine National Police (PNP) to investigate the person behind the manipulation and circulation of a recent video interview she had.
Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio (MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO)
"This incident only reinforced my previous call against this sick habit of people to create content with the intention of making themselves famous online — and to also misinform, amuse, and confuse the public," she said.
The mayor said the latest fake video file was originally produced and uploaded by a certain James B. Opre on Facebook.
" The post was captioned: “A great Philosopher once said… #PasagpaMu? (#YouWantToBeSlapped)” and I can be heard saying, “Ana ko stay-at-home unya makita tamo mag order og pizza sa Alberto's, unya mag take-out og milk tea tas mag yawyaw mo asa ang rasyon? Pasagpa mo?(I told you to stay at home but I see ordering Pizza at Alberto's, take out a milk tea then you complain that you are not included in the ration? Do you want to be slapped), " she said.
Duterte said the complete interview highlighted her condemnation against memes and other social media contents that twisted her official statements aired over Davao City Disaster Radio.
However, she said Opre’s apparent defiance ruined the message, and he rejected her appeal to the public to stop propagating fake information “as we are faced with a health crisis that could cause more lives, a crisis that could drag for more months”.
"People like Opre deserve a lesson," she said.
The mayor reiterated her call to the public to refrain from creating, uploading, and sharing content on social media that could cause more confusion, misunderstanding, and fear among the public.