PNP denies issuing threatening comments on Facebook
MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine National Police (PNP) on Tuesday denied it was behind a Facebook account that made malicious threats against another user who posted comment critical of police.
“The PNP categorically denies any official connection to a message which appeared in one particular Facebook account found by many to be offensive, threatening, and malicious,” Police Chief Superintendent Generoso Cerbo Jr. said in a statement.
A Facebook account in the name of the PNP had previously made a comment saying, “Foul words against our police officers can be used as evidence now to file a case against you in a court of law. A good example of this the comment of Mr Archie Arevalo ‘mas mdali mkotongan mga turista pg magaling s english pulis’.”
“Watch out the CIDG Anti-Transnational Crime is now conducting background investigation against you,” the account said in a following comment.
The account further threatened that it “has sets of equipment comparable or even more sophisticated/latest that other cybercrime units in the world … They can detect the location of the owner of Facebook account of a certain person.”
Cerbo said that they only publish official statements through their official website or through the Facebook account under the name pnp.pio.
“Further, said official statements can be released individually to our media friends both in hard and digital copies in the name of the PNP Public Information Office,” Cerbo said.
“We shall have this incident investigated ASAP,” he added.
The comments have since been removed from Facebook.
The new Cybercrime Prevention Act has been criticized as limiting the freedom of speech in the internet. It has been criticized for giving power to police enforcers to conduct online searches even without a warrant from a court.
Several petitions have been filed before the Supreme Court questioning the constitutionality of the law.
