The man who simply posed with then Vice Presidential candidate Leni Robredo fell victim to false accusations by netizens online when another netizen used his photo and pointed at him as the cop who killed Kian Lloyd delos Santos.
The identities and photos of the cops who were involved in the police operation that led to Kian’s death were released on August 22, but on August 21, a certain Aina Castillo started sharing a photo of a man with Robredo and described him as the police officer who shot Kian.
Castillo’s photo was then circulated online. Among those who shared the photo were the Facebook pages of “Pork Ng Ina Mo” and Paula Defensor Knack, the younger sister of the late Senator Miriam Santiago.
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The netizens were quick to slam the cop and the Liberal Party that was also accused of being linked to the cop.
But the man’s stepson, Lane Mathew Santos Calderon spoke up and slammed those who misused his stepfather’s photo and hurled false accusations at him. He clarified that his stepdad is not a cop, much less the man who shot Kian.
Even the Angono Public Information Office made several clarifications about the identity of the man in the viral photo, identifying him to be Alberto Florentino III, a 54-year old Uber driver.
In its first post about Florentino, Angono PIO’s Facebook page said, “Hindi po siya pulis at hindi siya ang pumatay kay Kian.”
In its second post, Angono PIO revealed Florentino’s name and the fact that Florentino and his partner Cristie Calderon, went to the National Bureau of Investigation Cyber Crime Division to file a complaint against Castillo.
Florentino said that his photo with Robredo was taken by a staff member of the Office of the Mayor in 2016 during the campaign period.
In an ABS-CBN report, Florentino said that he could barely sleep after his photo went viral along with the false accusations hurled at him because he was worried about the safety of his family. Although he has not received direct threats, his photo has already become a subject of various memes trying to link him to the LP politicians.
“Nadamay ho ako. Hindi ko alam kung siya rin nalungkot na… Si Vice President nadamay, pati ako nadamay,” Florentino said.
“This is considered as fake news and equivalent to cyber libel. Imputing something to somebody else na hindi naman niya ginawa,” said Atty. Manuel Eduarte, chief of the NBI Cyber Crime Division.
Florentino tried contacting Castillo via Facebook but she did not reply and even deleted her Facebook account. The NBI is currently searching for the owner of the Facebook account.
The NBI reminded the public to set their Facebook profiles to private to avoid identity theft. They also warned the netizens not to easily fall for what they see on social media.
Sources: ( gmanetwork.com , abs-cbn.com )
