THE post that has been circulating on Facebook about a Chinese dumpling, locally known as “siomai”, that was allegedly made out of dog meat is not true, contrary to the thousands of speculations aired by netizens.
The information was debunked and refuted by Tagum City Mayor Rey Uy himself earlier this week in a media interview.
He later added that the fake news could lead to serious problems and create a negative effect, especially on the businesses and employment of street vendors in Tagum City.
“Kanang ga-post gani sa Facebook, be responsible. Pagtuo nila’g nakatabang sila diha. How about kadtong gagmay nga ambulant vendors nga nagapamaligya’g siomai unya wala nay halin. Kadtong nag-post ato, kamoy mubayad?” Uy said, obviously irritated.
(Those who are posting on Facebook should be responsible. Do they think they are helping? How about those small ambulant vendors who sell siomai and have no sales at all? Those who posted it, will you pay them?).
To recall, a post of an unverified account, which has already been deleted, said that based on their investigation, the street food is made of dog meat processed or manufactured.
The post then went viral and garnered 15,000 shares which created hysteria among Tagumenyos.
“More details to follow apil na ang result sa laboratory nga amo gipa-conduct gikan sa mga pipila ka samples nga nakuha namo,” the post added.
(There are more details to follow, including the results of the laboratory tests that were conducted from the few samples we got).
Following the incident, the city’s highest leader immediately tapped the National Bureau of Investigation-Southern Mindanao Office (NBI-Semro) to hasten the process of investigation and trace the origin of the information.
He said violators may face penalties in relation to Article 154 of the Revised Penal Code.
The law states that any person who by means of printing, lithography or any other means of publication shall publish or cause to be published as news any false news which may endanger the public order, or cause damage to the interest or credit of the state will be liable under this article in relation to Section 6 of Republic Act (RA) 10175 (Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012).
"Klaro man 'tong fake news. Edi nahurot ang iro sa entero Pilipinas. In a day, pila ba ka siomai mahalin? Hurot ang iro. Naa bay nag-complain nga nangawala ilang iro? Wala oy. Kanang ga-post gani sa Facebook, be responsible," Uy said.
(It's clear that it was fake news. Surely, dogs should have run out all over the Philippines. In a day, how many pieces of siomai are sold? If that’s the case, dogs will surely be depleted. Has anyone complained that some dogs have gone missing? No, that's why be responsible in posting on Facebook).