Dumaguete City Vice Mayor William Ablong appealed to telecommunication firms to monitor and trace the senders of what he tagged as "false and alarming" text messages circulating in the city, among them are about the alleged spread of the bird flu virus in Oriental Negros.

Ablong, who admitted he had himself received similar messages, said the senders do not do the community any good.

He said the false message about the bird flu had caused a number of people to stop buying chicken for fear of catching the virus strain.

Another false message is about an impending tsunami that caused coastal communities in the towns of Dauin, Zamboanguita, Siaton, Sta. Catalina and Basay, and Bayawan City to panic.

Many families in those local government units immediately packed up and left for higher grounds to avoid being hit by the tsunami, but the text message turned out to be a hoax.*JG

back to top