Baguio City Police Office Director, Col. Glenn Lonogan dismissed as a farce the message on an alleged kidnapping incident at Trancoville barangay, which made rounds in different group chats in the city.
“There is no truth to this information. For the past days, there were no such incidents monitored or reported to us. While we encourage our citizens to be always on alert for their safety, we do not want unfounded information such as these to sow unnecessary fear among the people,” he said.
The message that circulated read:
“May na-kidnap daw po sa may Trancoville kaninang 6 to 7 p.m. Extra careful po tayo habang nasa labas and as much as possible, may kasama pauwi, lalo na sa mga ginagabi.”
Lonogan assured they will continue to be on the lookout for incidents as claimed as he encouraged the public to always be on guard against crimes wherever they are.
“Be assured that our Baguio’s Finest are on hand to help you. Thank you for your cooperation in keeping our city safe,” he said.
The Philippine National Police been cautious about posts on social media as some people use the platform to create issues even on crimes or cases that are already solved.
Recently, the PNP Anti-Cybercrime Group (ACG) has directed police units to intensify cyber patrolling and validate trending videos posted on social media.
ACG chief, Brig. Gen. Joel Doria, gave the order following another viral video where a woman was heard crying for help because of alleged attempted rape.
Doria cited the need to check the legitimacy of these materials as some photos and videos turned out to be recycled incidents that have already been resolved by the police while some are manipulated due to different motives such as attracting more followers or putting the government in a bad light. – Aileen P. Refuerzo
April 19, 2024