Carcar cops mull filing case against 17-year-old IT student in Abu Sayyaf hoax FB post

Screenshot of original post (PHOTO GRABBED FROM ARGAO POLICE STATION).

The Carcar City Police are studying what action to take against a teenager, who posted on her Facebook page a false information about a supposed Abu Sayyaf group allegedly cornering a Ceres Bus in Ocaña, Carcar City.

Chief Insp. Jose Liddawa, Carcar City Police Chief, said that they were considering pressing charges against the 17-year-old information technology and communications student of a school in Argao town, who posted the false information on her FB page last Nov. 7, to stop others from also spreading false information on social media.

“But if we don’t do anything, this might lead other malicious Facebook users to follow and spread more false information,” said Liddawa.

Liddawa said that they were never any Abu Sayyaf group in the city and that what happened last Monday night was only a vehicular accident.

“I was at the police station last night and we’ve never tracked such report. Malakas lang siguro yung imagination nung batang ‘yun,” Liddawa said in a phone interview.

Aside from the Carcar police, the Argao police also are investigating the teenager for posting the false information online.

Senior Insp. Wether Grapa of the Argao Police said they identified the the female teenager, who is from Alcoy town in southern Cebu, and asked her why she posted the false information.

“She said a friend told her about the information. Her friend was crying when she phoned her. Perturbed, she immediately posted the information on her personal account to warn others as well,” Grapa said in a phone interview.

The girl posted the status update on November 7, Monday, at around 6 p.m. which was immediately shared by several netizens.

Grapa said the girl apologized for her action and affirmed that the information to be false.