Several Facebook (FB) posts have been circulating for about a week warning netizens about possible child abductions in Marikina City after reports of an alleged kidnapping involving four children in Barangay Malanday surfaced. These are false.
The Marikina Public Information Office (PIO) denied the kidnapping of four minors.
The erroneous reports first appeared on Nov. 12, following an FB post that showed photos of the “missing” children and a screenshot of a message that said:
“Nandito napo sa marikina ang mga nangunguha ng bata. Nagkakagulo po dito sa purok 7 along kabayani road po ang daming mga pulis. dahil may kinuha pong 3 mga binata at ang isang bata eh tinadyakan palabas ng van dahil siguro bata pa.
(The people who are abducting children are already here in Marikina. There’s a commotion here in Purok 7 along Kabayani Road, with many police officers around because three young men were taken, and one child was kicked out of a van, probably because he was still a child).”
The issue gained more traction the following day after a barangay captain from Marikina posted another warning on her FB page: “We’ve received reports of missing children especially students/young girls in Marikina City. Do NOT take this lightly! Keep your children close and DO NOT LET THEM OUT OF YOUR SIGHT.”
All of these claims are false. The Marikina PIO issued a statement clarifying that the four minors were invited to a Bible study without informing their parents, adding that they are safe and have made it back to their homes.
The individuals reported as missing in Parang and Marikina Heights were said to have left their homes on their own.
The Marikina PIO also said the police are currently investigating those who spread the false information and urged the public to be responsible when sharing unverified content on social media.
This spurious post has been republished by at least 15 other FB users, with additional text that was not included in the post mentioned above.
The posts collectively garnered over 540 reactions, 138 comments, and 765 shares.
