Palace belies martial law, total lockdown rumors

MANILA – Malacañang on Friday denied claims circulating on social media that the government will declare martial law due to a sharp rise in coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) cases in the country.

“Fake news po ito. Wag po tayong magpaniwala sa ganitong uri ng balita (That is fake news. Do not believe in this type of news),” acting presidential spokesperson and Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said in a press briefing.

Nograles was referring to the voice recording of a woman urging the public to stock up on food which is good until January 30 on the possibility that President Rodrigo Duterte will declare martial law or total lockdown by next week.

He said spreading baseless rumors does not help, and would only contribute to “unnecessary anxiety” and “needless panic” among the people.

“Those who have nothing better to do and peddling lies, you should stop this,” he said.

On Thursday, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana earlier tagged as “fake news” the viral voice clip regarding martial law and total lockdown.