ICPO director Police Colonel Leo Batiles, in a press report, said that the office is coordinating with the Regional Anti-Cybercrime Unit (RACU) 6 to identify the individuals behind and file charges for spreading invalidated reports on social media that brought panic to the public.

The ICPO noted netizens have been sharing on social media a post about a kidnapping incident involving two female students in front of a university in La Paz District.

However, ICPO dismissed the rumor citing that there was no incident reported regarding the abduction of two students based on the record of La Paz police station.

"If you received any report, you could directly report it to the nearest police station in your area for the police to verify its validity. Please avoid spreading news that is unvalidated because it may cause an alarm to the public," Batiles emphasized.

He also warned the public that police authorities would not hesitate to go after those spreading misinformation on social media.  (JBG/LMLE/PIA Iloilo/ICPO Press Release)