Artist nagkalat raw ng fake news, kalaboso

KAKASUHAN ng poet at scriptwriter ang responsible sa pagkakadakip sa kanya dahil umano sa pagkakalat ng maling impormasyon ukol sa coronavirus disease (COVID-19) sa Cebu City.

Ani Maria Victoria Beltran, sa pamamagitan ng abogadong si Vincent Isles, magsasampa siya ng mga kasong administratibo at kriminal sa mga nagpakulong sa kanya.

“We’re going to question this. This is a gross violation of the rights enshrined in the Constitution,” ani Isles.

Dinakip si Beltran alas-2 ng hapon kanina sa kanyang restaurant sa Brgy. Lahug.

Naganap ang pag-aresto ilang oras makaraang magbanta si Cebu City Mayor Edgardo Labella na ipakukulong siya dahil sa pagkakalat ng fake news.

Kamakailan ay ipinost ni Beltran sa kanyang Facebook account na mahigit 9,000 residente sa Sitio Zapatera, Brgy. Luz ang may COVID-19.

“9,000 + new cases (all from Zapatera) of COVID-19 in Cebu City in one day. We are now the epicenter in the whole Solar System,” ayon sa kanyang post.

Pero giit ng abogado, ang Department of Health ang nag-anunsyo na lahat ng taga-Zapatera, na mayroong mahigit 9,000 populasyon, ay “presumed contaminated” ng virus kaya hindi na dapat ipagpatuloy ang mass testing.

“Her (Beltran) post should not be not taken literally. I don’t know why Mayor Labella took it literally. Clearly, the post was not a violation of our laws. I do not understand why Mayor Labella would like to focus on a petty concern instead of focusing on the more important issue. That’s a very dangerous trend,” dagdag ni Isles.

“As a fellow lawyer who knows the laws, he (Labella) should take a second look at the Facebook post. No matter how you look at the post, there was no intention of creating confusion and chaos. Instead of using his time to go after those who have something to say about the pandemic, Mayor Labella should use his time and resources to focus on how to help the poor and make them survive this crisis.”