MAYOR Sebastian Duterte has lashed out at some individuals who were using social media to spread unverified criminal activities in the city as they even tarnished the reputation of a mall by claiming that it was one of the sites of robbery incidents.
On Friday over the city government-run radio station, Duterte, although admitting that there were crimes that took place in the city, said some individuals were using social media by posting supposed crimes committed in the city so that their posts would trend even when these were not even reported to the police.
“Usahay man gud naa manggoy style ning mga tao sa social media gusto magpa-trending ba,” he said, asking them to allow the legitimate media entities to report the verified news stories on criminal incidents.
This developed as the city police also denied the social media posts because these were unverified reports and were move to misinform the public.
“It is very unfortunate that there are some misinformation and unvalidated reports made by some individuals that paints a negative picture of our safety and security status in the city,” it said, pointing out that has investigated the posts and “found no reported robbery/hold-up incidents that happened in the areas mentioned on social media. In fact, the establishment mentioned in the post had already denied the claim.”
It also urged the people “to refrain from sharing such malicious and fake news as it will just cause panic and fear to the public. Let us also be reminded to be responsible in posting unconfirmed reports online to avoid any legal implications.”
It also urged the public “to exercise vigilance and report any unlawful acts to our nearest police station or place your complaints to our official social media accounts so that we could promptly act and address the matter appropriately.”
“We assure everyone that Davao City is safe as we are doing our best efforts to secure and protect everyone who lives and sojourn the City,” it added.
The mayor urged those behind these unverified reports to instead focus their energy on coming up trending posts on Tiktok like dances, instead of posting social media criminal incidents that were not true.
As he castigated those doing these social media activities, the mayor pointed out that the government has been doing everything to solve the crimes. “Naganingkamot ang gobyerno,” he said, pointing out that the city police has been doing its obligations round the clock to make sure that the city is safe especially as it is holding the Kadayawan sa Davao festival which culminates this weekend.
The mayor said the data with him, which came from police blotters, showed that there were eight robbery incidents last month and so far, there were also six reported this month.
The mayor also urged parents to stop their minor children from listening to his rants because of the words he used. “Dili man gud unta ko tigpamalikas nga tawo kay tungod dili ko gusto makuha sa akong mga anak akong ba-ba ba,” he said.
He said the government is not similar to movies where heroes arrive on time to solve crimes. “It could be nga naa moy agenda, or you are simply stupid,” he said.
“I have to admit there is crime happening, but the police are doing their job,” he added.
He also said that among his speculations was that those behind these were individuals who were against the leadership of his father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, whom he described as “very vocal” against criminality.
The mayor made the comment after the Gaisano Mall of Davao, one of the biggest malls in the city, denied a Facebook post that claimed there were robbery incidents in the mall.
“This is to inform the public not to believe the fake news circulating about a series of hold-up and robbery incidents that happened inside our mall. Upon our investigation, these allegations are baseless and untrue causing unwarranted fear and worry to the public,” the mall said in a statement posted on its official Facebook page also Friday.
The mall was reacting to posts on Facebook that there were “hold-upping incidents” in the city and one of them took place inside its comfort rooms.Carmelito Q. Francisco and Rhoda Grace Saron
