Philippine News Agency
Cavite town mayor, 2 others face raps over Covid-19 fake news
Noveleta Mayor Dino Reyes Chua and two journalists are facing criminal charges for allegedly spreading fake news about COVID-19.
The charges stem from a complaint filed by the Cavite City local government regarding false reports spread through a Facebook account named Maggie Bernal.
Mayor Chua allegedly used the fake account to share fabricated information about a COVID-19 death at Cavite Medical Center and photos of Persons Under Investigation (PUI), causing panic among residents.
The Facebook account also accused the Cavite City local government of a lack of transparency in sharing information, which was later debunked by the Rural Health Unit of Cavite City.
The newsmen, identified as Mario Batuigas and Amor Virata, were implicated because a photo used in the fake news report was published by an online news website.
Further investigation revealed that the 'Maggie Bernal' account was originally named Angela Mae de Guzman and was created by Mayor Chua in 2010, allegedly to attack political opponents.
The charges filed against them include violations of the Bayanihan to Heal As One Act, laws on unlawful use of publication and utterances, online libel, the Mandatory Reporting of Notifiable Diseases and Health Events of Public Health Concern Act, and the Data Privacy Act.
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