Government officials warned Sunday against fake news spreading on social media that there would be a holiday lockdown from December 23 to January 23 next year.
Palace spokesperson Harry Roque said the information was fake news.
National Task Force against COVID-19’s spokesperson also warned the public against believing in unverified reports about COVID-19.
“Everyone is strongly advised not to believe news or information coming from unverified sources. Please ensure you verify or ask authorities or trusted organizations about the veracity of such information before believing and passing it around. Let us not be instruments of fake news distribution and help our fellow kababayans,” said NTF Spokesperson, retired Gen. Restituto Padilla.
Meanwhile, Valenzuela City also warned against similar fake news, saying a holiday lockdown would be imposed in the city from December 19 to January 1. Its local government said the city was still under GCQ.
“FAKE NEWS ALERT! Wala pong katotohanan ang kumakalat na balita na may magaganap na lockdown sa ating lungsod. Ang Valenzuela City ay nasa ilalim pa rin ng GCQ. Huwag basta-basta maniwala sa chismis ng kapitbahay o sa mga forwarded messages. Iba-iba na pong version ang nakarating sa aming tanggapan,” it said in a Facebook post.
Also read: GCQ remained to prevent COVID-19 surge during Christmas – Duque
Holiday lockdown fake news – NTF
Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles also issued a warning against the fake holiday lockdown news.
“Alamin ang totoo. Huwag maniwala at Huwag po magkalat ng Fake news lalo na ngayong panahon. Patuloy lang po tayo maging responsable sa sarili at sa pamilya,” he said.
On December 4, the Department of Health (DOH) warned that the government could be forced to implement a strict lockdown after the Christmas season if there would a COVID-19 surge.
Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire, however, the measure would be the government’s last option to control the virus transmission and surge of cases.
Last week, President Rodrigo Duterte placed Metro Manila, Batangas, Iloilo City, Tacloban City, Lanao del Sur, Iligan, and Davao City under general community quarantine (GCQ) until the end of 2021.
Meanwhile, the rest of the country is under a modified general community quarantine until the end of December.