By Fernan Angeles
PERSONS behind news and social media posts attributing statements he never said would be made to pay dearly for their acts, said Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque on Tuesday.
Roque told reporters in a televised interview that he would file charges after a false statement being attributed to him circulated on social media, even as he stressed that he never downplayed the threat of COVID-19 as claimed by a manipulated quote card of a major English daily.
“Sinabi naman po ng pahayagan na fake news talaga iyon. Ang sinabi ko daw ay, ‘COVID lang iyan, kaunti lang ang namamatay, kahit umabot pa ng sampung milyon.’ Hindi ko po sinabi iyon. Ang sinabi ko po ay ibang-iba,” he said.
“At iyong mga magkakalat ng fake news, sasampolan ko po kayo. Paimbestigahan ko kayo at ako po ay magsasampa ng kaso, antayin ninyo po iyan.”
He urged people not to spread false information amid the pandemic.
“At mag-ingat po tayo sa mga fake news. Tanging sa web page lang po ng Presidential Spokesperson or sa Harry Roque page kayo kumuha ng impormasyon or di naman kaya sa PCOO web pages,” he said.