The Philippine National Police (PNP) is preparing to issue a subpoena to a social media user who falsely claimed that Acting Chief Lt. Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. urged police officers to defy President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
PNP spokesperson Brig. Gen. Randulf Tuaño said in a press briefing at Camp Crame that investigators from the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) and the Anti-Cybercrime Group (ACG) have already identified the person behind the post.
“According to the CIDG and the Anti-Cybercrime Group’s report, the post was taken down and the poster of the disinformation was identified,” Tuaño said in Filipino. “The CIDG subpoena is now being prepared to summon her and give her a chance to explain.”
Tuaño declined to name the social media user but described her as a professional residing in Mindanao.
A screenshot of the now-deleted Facebook post, shown during the briefing, came from a page named “Rose Ann.” It falsely alleged that Nartatez called Marcos a “thief of the country’s treasury” and encouraged the police to disregard the president’s directives.
In a statement Tuesday night, the PNP denounced the claim as “fabricated and malicious,” saying it was meant to “spread confusion and discredit our institution.”
Nartatez himself dismissed the allegations earlier, saying no directive or discussion ever took place regarding any withdrawal of support from the president. “And what’s the basis? We have a president who won by a majority vote… I don’t see any basis to remove him from office,” he said.
The issue surfaced following recent remarks by Armed Forces Chief of Staff Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr., who rejected calls from certain groups and retired officers urging the military to oust the president amid corruption allegations in infrastructure projects.
