CAGAYAN de Oro City Councilor Lordan Suan branded as fake news a post on social media that he and mayoral aspirant Jose Gabriel "Pompee" La Viña have plans to change the name of JR Borja General Hospital to Vicente Emano Memorial Hospital.
The Facebook page is a page dedicated to selling shoes online.
"For the record - I never said this. Fake news! This is nothing more than a blatant lie and a smear campaign from a page that purportedly promotes shoes," Suan said.
"This page is obviously created for political agenda and merely aims to disinform the people of Cagayan de Oro. This post is to create hate and divisiveness," he added.
The owner of the Facebook page posted the fake news at 3:50 p.m. of October 21. As of this posting Tuesday, October 26, the post garnered 77 reactions, 106 comments and 91 shares.
"Fake news has no place in a decent, democratic country. We must fight that with truth and facts," Suan said.
The councilor also asked the public to be more cautious, especially when checking the source of information.
"I'm also asking the public a favor: if you read or see a social media post, please check the source and do not hesitate to verify. I'm always here to listen," Suan said.