Man from Manila arrested for spreading fake news vs Marikina mayor

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DISINFORMATION Maan Teodoro, Marcy’s wife, warns voters against falling for fake news. —PHOTO FROM MAAN TEODORO FB PAGE

MANILA, Philippines — A man accused of spreading fake news against Marikina Mayor Marcy Teodoro was arrested by the police in the city on Election Day.

Barangay patrollers spotted the suspect, who was not identified by police, on Monday morning, Marikina City Police Substation 2 Commander Lt. Aladin Alingas told Inquirer.net in a phone interview.

“They saw him on a motorcycle at … Provident Village carrying newspapers with reports against suspended Mayor Marcy Teodoro,” Alingas said.

READ: Rep. Maan Teodoro poised to win Marikina mayoral race

According to the substation commander, the suspect was from Sampaloc, Manila.

When asked about how the man ended up in Marikina, Alingas said, “He was invited by his neighbor to go to Marikina … to hand out newspapers.”

Alingas added that the suspect was offered P1,200 for the task.

Seized from the man were copies of a tabloid-style publication that contained a report, which claimed Teodoro had been disqualified from running in the May 12 polls and votes cast for him would not be counted.

Teodoro is running for House representative in Marikina’s first district. In her official Facebook account, Teodoro’s wife Maan, who is running for city mayor, shared a screenshot of the tabloid in a post.

Wife reacts

“This is all fake news. Congressman Marcy Teodoro is still a candidate. End all the lies. Go out and vote today,” she said.

In March, the Office of the Ombudsman ordered Teodoro and several other city government officials suspended for six months over allegations that they misallocated P130 million in Philippine Health Insurance Corp. funds.

Before that, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) canceled Teodoro’s certificate of candidacy in December, citing material misrepresentation regarding his address.

However, Comelec Chair George Garcia said that his name would still be included in the ballots pending a “final and executory ruling.” /cb