Fake ‘Cebu Pacific’ Facebook page draws thousands to false promo

ALL A HOAX. The fake “CEB Pacific” page posted a free flight promo, which drew thousands of netizens to join.

MANILA, Philippines – Cebu Pacific, the country’s first and biggest budget airline, warned their patrons last Friday that the “CEB Pacific” Facebook page is not their official social account. The Gokongwei-run carrier also said that they only have one Facebook account, “Cebu Pacific Air.”

The announcement came after tens of thousands of Facebook users fell to the hoax account’s false promo supposedly created to appease upset passengers affected by long line cues, flight cancellations and overbooked flights on Christmas day.

“Cebu Pacific Air would like to apologize for the situation at Naia Terminal 3 on Dec. 25, 2014,” CEB Pacific’s page said.

The promo claimed that Cebu Pacific will draw 1,000 lucky winners of free flights for two to any destination of choice. The statement even included a photograph of what appears to be a congested Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3.

The promo was posted in the fake page and drew over 20,000 likes and 18,000 comments within its first two hours of posting. It continued to lure netizens until late Friday afternoon.

Cebu Pacific assured the public that they will track the fraudsters.

“We have reported this page (CEB Pacific) to Facebook, and we will continue reminding everyone to be vigilant,” the official Cebu Pacific Air Facebook page said. “We will coordinate with authorities to identify parties behind this page, so we can take necessary legal action.”

Meanwhile, government aviation authorities started looking into complaints on the inconvenience last Christmas day and will find out Cebu Pacific’s liability.

“The CAB (Civil Aeronautics Board), MIAA (Manila International Airport Authority) and CAAP (Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines) will convene on Monday to investigate these issues and determine if Cebu Pacific is liable for any violations and whether tighter regulations are necessary,” Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) spokesperson Michael Arthur Sagcal said.

With report from Cyra Moraleda