Be careful what you post on the internet because it may land you in jail.
The National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) issued the warning on Friday, March 14, after it launched an investigation on a vlogger who made a “content” video urging Metro Manila residents to prepare for an impending “emergency” in the aftermath of the arrest of former president Rodrigo Duterte.
In a statement, NCRPO director Police Brig. Gen. Anthony A. Aberin said a Facebook account identified only as “Maranao TV” posted a video where a man was shown advising residents to make preparations for a possible emergency situation in Metro Manila.
Aberin clarified that there remains “no credible information” that would suggest any form of security threat in the capital region.
“Our stringent security measures are already established in coordination with other security agencies and contingency plans are also in place for any unusual occurrence in the security situation,” he said.
In the 30-second video, the man said: “Hi guys, gawa ako short content lang ha. If you are in Manila and if you have relatives in Manila, magstock na kayo ng pagkain, powerbanks niyo, batteries for flashlights, that’s for emergency (Hi guys, I’ll just make a short content. If you are in Manila and if you have relatives in Manila, stock up on food, prepare your powerbanks and batteries for flashlights, that’s for emergency).”
He added: “Kung nagme-maintenance sila, mayroon kayong mga senior, magstock kayo ng gamot or medicine because something is coming up. Something is coming up. ‘Yun lang. God save the Philippines (If they have a maintenance medicine, if you have senior citizen relatives, stock up on medicines because something is coming up. Something is coming up. That’s all. God save the Philippines).”
As of writing, the video has already racked up 10 million views, 101,000 reactions, and over 19,800 comments on Facebook.
The Metro Manila top cop urged the public to remain calm, deliberate, and be discerning on social media as not everything posted there turns out to be true.
“An investigation is now underway to determine the identity of the person in the video and the facts and circumstances surrounding the Facebook post,” Aberin said.
Likewise, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) disproved claims on social media about soldiers resigning from their posts after the arrest of Duterte, stressing that the military "remains united and non-partisan."
Duterte was arrested on March 11 on the strength of an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) and enforced by the Philippine National Police (PNP) and Interpol over the thousands of people killed in his administration’s “war on drugs”.
He was flown to The Hague, Netherlands and is set to make his first appearance before the ICC on Friday.