The creators of the voice clip circulating online about a supposedly looming total lockdown and martial law in the country amid rising Covid-19 cases will be charged, the Department of Justice said on Monday.
The voice clip, earlier called “false and baseless” by Malacañang, urged the public to stock up on supplies that would last them until end-January.
In a message to reporters, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said the National Bureau of Investigation had begun tracking the people behind the voice clip.
“The NBI has started tracking these purveyors of false information and will arrest them if found,” Guevarra said in a message to reporters.
“They will be charged, among others, with unlawful use of publication and unlawful utterances under the Revised Penal Code, in relation to the Cybercrime Law,” he added.
Guevarra urged Filipinos to stop sharing the voice clip “to prevent alarm, panic buying and hoarding of essential goods.”
The Philippine government has begun imposing stricter mobility restrictions and escalated alert levels in the country amid the rise in Covid-19 cases. John Ezekiel J. Hirro