Cebu City businesswoman arrested for misinformation on social media about COVID-19
Businesswoman named Maria Victoria Beltran has been arrested. According to Mayor Edgardo Labella, Beltran has posted misinformation on social media. The said post spread quite a panic in Sitio Zapatera in Barangay Luz in Cebu City. In her now-deleted post, she declared that there were already thousands of new cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases in the said village.
Beltran’s post causes panic.
The businesswoman, then, released a statement on Sunday. According to her, the post didn’t intend to spread panic. She, then, continued that the post remained a satirical, literature that even an ordinary person could understand. The incriminating post also reads:
“9,000+ new cases (All from Zapatera) of COVID-19 in Cebu City in one day. We are now the epicenter in the whole Solar System.”
Mayor Labella on Beltran’s COVID-19 post.
Mayor Labella pointed out that Beltra’s “satirical” post caused alarm among residents. He also noted that there have been people asking for clarification from his office. This caused the police to act and provide her with necessary rudiments of due process, as per the PNP Cybercrime Unit.
“If I recall sometime last Saturday, an item on her page caused alarm and quite a panic among residents… A mention about 9,000 infected individuals but of course it’s not true… There were so many who texted me, went to my office. Because of the very nature of the entry on the page, the police acted on it. I’m sure the police just did their job.”
As of April 19, Sunday afternoon, a unit has detained Beltran at the Police Regional Office 7 in Cebu City.
