MANILA, Philippines — The National Capital Region Police Office appealed to the public Tuesday to stop further spreading a memorandum from the Valenzuela police station on a purported plan by the Maute group to carry out bombings in Metro Manila.
“Today, a document allegedly from the Station Intelligence Branch of Valenzuela Police Station was circulated via Facebook, personal messages and other platforms. The spread was too fast that even before we confirmed its validity it’s already everywhere. Following this I have ordered the Northern Police District Director Bong Fajardo to investigate the document handling procedure at the Valenzuela Police Station,” NCRPO chief Director Oscar Albayalde said in a statement.
News reports say the officer of the Valenzuela police who signed the memorandum has been relieved over the incident.
Monday night, he also issued an advisory on the memorandum:
In media interviews, Albayalde did not categorically describe the information as false but stressed that it was still being validated and therefore should not have been released.
“I request everyone to please stop the spread or posting of the said document while we verify its content,” he said.
