Malacañang warned social media users spreading fake information that aim to sabotage the government’s COVID-19 vaccination efforts that authorities will find them and file the appropriate charges that will put them in jail.
Since the start of the pandemic, Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said that cases have already been filed against five people for violating Articcle 154 or the Unlawful Use of Publication and Utterances in relation to Section 6 of Republic Act 11469 or the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act and Section 6 of RA 10175 or the Cybercrime Prevention Act.
“Sa mga nagpapakalat ng fake news asahan nyo po mahahanap po kayo, sasampahan kayo ng kaso, ikukulong kayo (To those spreading fake news, expect that you will be found, you will be charged, and put in jail),” he said in an online media briefing.
The Philippine National Police (PNP) led by the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) and the Anti-Cybercrime Group already organized a team to investigate claims that there’s ongoing sabotage to the government’s vaccination efforts.
Interior Undersecretary and spokesman Jonathan Malaya said the team has yet to submit a report as they are still finalizing the investigation.
The Palace issued the warning as spurious and malicious information circulated on social media and via text messages last week that prompted large crowds to go to different vaccination centers around Metro Manila. Thousands of people overwhelmed the sites, disrupting the vaccination program and violating social distancing protocols.
READ: Palace asks LGUs: Don't blame Duterte for overcrowding in vax sites
The posts and text messages claimed that unvaccinated people cannot receive ayuda or cash aid while the National Capital Region (NCR) is under a two-week lockdown until August 20. They also claimed that unvaccinated people cannot go out of their homes.
Manila Mayor Isko Moreno was one of the first public officials to speak out against rumormongering, alleging that politics can be playing a role in the sabotage of the vaccination sites in his city.
Over the past weeks, Moreno has been criticizing the government for the lack of vaccine supply and its slow distribution, as well as the government’s weak pandemic response.