A daily newspaper (not Manila Standard) has apologized to President Marcos for a post on its Facebook page that mistakenly linked the Chief Executive to a document from the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA).
The statement shared by the Palace said: “DAILY TRIBUNE expresses its apologies for sharing unvalidated information that erroneously linked President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to a drug enforcement document.”
“It deeply regrets the posted art card on Facebook and recognizes the harm and confusion of the irresponsible social media material.”
“It understands the importance of upholding the truth and integrity, especially when it comes to matters concerning public figures.”
“In taking full responsibility, DAILY TRIBUNE’s online team learns from this experience and will be more diligent and discerning in the future when it comes to sharing information by verifying sources and ensuring the accuracy of the information before dissemination.”
The PDEA also denied the authenticity of operational documents about an anti-drug operation in 2012 that circulated on social media.
“PDEA ran a check through its Plans and Operations Reports Management Information System or PORMIS and found that no such operation was logged on said date,” the anti-drug body said in a statement.
The documents include an Authority to Operate and a Pre-Operation Report, both dated March 11, 2012 allegedly issued by PDEA.
“A critical feature of PORMIS is that one cannot insert or tamper with recorded operations. All pre-operation documents are serialized and recorded in this database. This ensures the system’s integrity and negates any doubt on the data the system contains,” it added.
The agency cautioned the public to be more prudent in sharing pieces of information.
“In an age where Artificial Intelligence can generate realistic fake videos, spurious documents, and fantastic claims at having ‘insider information’, the public is cautioned to be more careful in believing such fake news,” PDEA added.
Newspaper says sorry to Palace for unvalidated PDEA document
