PNP debunks fake news on helicopter pesticide spraying for COVID-19

The Philippine National Police (PNP) has debunked circulating social media claims of military helicopters spraying pesticides nationwide to combat COVID-19, labeling it as fake news.

PNP spokesperson Police Brigadier General Bernard Banac stated that the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-MEID) denied any such flight operations.

The PNP emphasized that informed citizens are more effective against COVID-19 than fake news during the national emergency.

The PNP-Anti-Cybercrime Group has launched an investigation to identify the creators of this false information.

In response to the continued spread of misinformation, the PNP has created a task force, dubbed Task Force Covid Kontra Peke, led by PNP Deputy Chief for Operations Police Lieutenant General Guillermo Eleazar.

This new unit will coordinate with the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) to monitor social media and identify individuals responsible for spreading disinformation.

The PNP-Anti-Cybercrime Group also arrested two suspects for spreading disinformation and selling fake COVID-19 cure products.