Some Facebook pages have been sharing a story about how retired police officer, SPO3 Arthur Lascañas, was paid to testify against President Rodrigo Duterte because he was in “deep financial trouble.”
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Facebook page “Filipino at its finest” shared the article on February 23 and gained 3,250 shares and over 900 reactions, as of writing.
We also found it shared by Okd2.com to their page on February 22 and received 184 shares.
It seems like the story originated from Okd2.com.
Okd2.com claimed that Lascañas’ cousin and long-time neighbor, Merly Lascañas Braza, said that the retired cop backtracked on his initial testimony denying the existence of the Davao Death Squad (DDS) and now admitted to being the group’s leader acting under Duterte’s command because he needs money. Braza allegedly said that Lascañas’ family has run into debts due to financial mismanagement.
Braza was even quoted saying: “Hindi naming inaalis ang possibility na may taong nag-alok sa kanya ng malaking halaga para siraan si Pangulong Duterte. Sabi nga niya kahit ano gagawin nya basta masolusyunan ang problema nya sa pera.”
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Braza added that Lascañas has become alcoholic and wasted his money on luxurious things.
The article said that the cousin, though, did not know the people who could have been talking to the retired police.
However, we could not find any reports involving a certain “Merly Lascañas Braza” speaking up about the issue of the retired cop’s recent public confession linking Duterte to the DDS.
It doesn’t help that Okd2.com has a long history of making up stuff, including people’s names and statements, to come up with fake yet almost believable stories to fool readers.
Okd2.com is the website responsible for spreading fake stories, such as former President Erap Estrada giving VP Leni Robredo a 2/10 rating, Senator Risa Hontiveros seeking salary increase for rallyists, Smartmatic threatening to out Comelec and LP, US President Donald Trump asking Duterte for advice in dealing with China, and more.
Be Informed. Beat the Trolls, Share the Truth!
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