By Christopher Lloyd Caliwan
MANILA – The Philippine National Police (PNP) on Wednesday said it is preparing a subpoena against a social media user who claimed acting PNP chief Lt. Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. had urged the police, military and other uniformed personnel to disobey lawful orders from President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.
In a press briefing at Camp Crame, PNP spokesperson and public information chief Brig. Gen. Randulf Tuaño said the “fabricated and malicious” post, which described the President a “thief of the country’s treasury,” was intended to spread confusion and discredit the police institution.
The post had already been taken down but the PNP shared a screenshot of it at the briefing. Tuaño said he was not at liberty to name the social media user, who went by the FB name “Rose Ann” and is a “professional living in Mindanao.”
Tuaño said the subpoena to be issued by the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group would allow the netizen to explain her side.
“Sa pag-violate ng Cybercrime or Revised Penal Code (RPC) ay immaterial yung kanilang motive. Kapag sila ay gumawa ng disinformation sila ay puwedeng kasuhan ng RPC Article 154 na kung saan yung ating Cybercrime Law pinataaas yung penalty ng one degree na usually ipinapataw ng RPC (In violating the Cybercrime Act or the Revised Penal Code (RPC), the motive is immaterial. When they spread disinformation, they can be charged under RPC Article 154, the penalty for which the Cybercrime Law has increased by one degree),” he added.
Following the malicious post, the PNP also issued a statement: “Our loyalty is to the Filipino people and to the rule of law. We call on the public to exercise vigilance, verify information through official PNP channels, and refrain from sharing unverified content that may mislead others or undermine public trust.” (PNA)
