The Makati City government is considering filing a complaint against a content creator over what it described as a malicious and misleading post on social media.
Mayor Abigail Binay said Streetlife Manila used a two-year-old photo involving a private entity to put the city government in bad light.
Binay tapped the city law department to study the filing of appropriate charges against the creators and administrators of Streetlife Manila and those who shared the malicious post on Facebook.
On Tuesday, Streetlife Manila posted a photo of a clamped motorcycle with a caption stating, “Naputulan ng kadena si Manong Angkas, itinabi niya saglit, imbes na tulungan sana, Clamp at Ticket ang binigay ng enforcer.”
“Streetlife Manila is maliciously spreading fake news and disinformation on social media,” Binay said. “The malicious post has gone viral and elicited harsh comments against the city from netizens.”
She pointed out that it was not even an employee of the Public Safety Department (PSD) who was involved in the incident, but a traffic enforcer of the Makati Parking Authority (MAPA), a private corporation authorized to implement traffic schemes and parking regulations within the Makati Central Business District.
“Digital content creators should be prudent and responsible. In pursuing social media clout, this Facebook page has resorted to spreading false information and exposed our officials and employees to online abuse and harassment,” she added.
Based on MAPA’s investigation, one of their traffic enforcers passed by the abandoned motorcycle on the sidewalk and promptly clamped it.
He then asked a fellow enforcer to wait for the driver’s return, subsequently finding out that the driver went to buy spare parts to replace the broken chain, as the MAPA enforcers removed the clamp and retracted the issuance of a violation ticket.
