Believing in false security threats and relaying it to other people through social media posts and chain messages only help lawless elements and terrorists in spreading their propaganda and sowing fear among the general public.
This was stressed by ranking military and police officers Saturday as the Armed Forces of the Philippines and Philippine National Police called for calm and sobriety amid the recent bomb attacks in Mindanao.
Major Gen. Cirilito Sobejana, commander of the Philippine Army 6th Infantry Division and Joint Task Force Central, called on the public to refrain from sharing hoax messages about supposed bomb attacks in malls, religious places, and other places of convergence.
“With the very volatile situation, there are some individuals who are circulating messages in the social media threatening the public of more bombings which have triggered fear among the populace,” Sobejana said.
Sobejana, which has military jurisdiction over Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, North Cotabato, and Sultan Kudarat, said he has alerted all his units to “strictly heighten the alert level and secure all places of worships and areas of convergence” in their areas of operation.
“We will also further intensify our intelligence efforts and initiate pro-active security measures to thwart possible hostile plans,” he noted.
The military officers called fake security threats “annoying” and urged the public to report to authorities individuals who try to sow fear by spreading false and malicious information.
“Peace and security is everybody’s responsibility. Hence, report to authorities any security-related issues for the safety of everyone,” he said. (Martin Sadongdong)