Malacañang has denied circulating rumors that salaries of government workers would be deducted to establish a relief fund for earthquake victims in Turkey and Syria.
Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Secretary Cheloy Garafil said over the weekend that the memorandum circular indicating a two-day salary deduction for government workers was “not true.”
The fake memorandum bore the seal of Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin.
Garafil said the Office of the Executive Secretary was already investigating the source of the memorandum.
The Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines also warned the public of the “fake memorandum circulating online titled “’wo Days Salary Deduction For the Month of March 2023 From All Government Employees For President Relief Fund For Turkey And Syria.'”
“The Office of the President and the Office of the Executive Secretary have never issued such ‘memorandum circular.’ Government officials and employees are hereby advised to practice precaution and to observe vigilance against these deceptive information (sic),” it said.
The death toll in Syria and Turkey has breached 46,000. John Ezekiel J. Hirro