OZAMIZ CITY – The Police Regional Office for Northern Mindanao said the “knock-knock scare” supposedly carried by a cult in Misamis Occidental province was the product of false information that only exists in social media.
“Mga fake news kining mikatap nga balita sa social media, gani walay nagpa-blotter nianang giingong manoktok diha sa atong mga buhatan sa kapolisan (These reports in social media were fake news, in fact no one went to our police stations to put on the blotter the said knockings),” said Police Captain Francisco Sabud Jr., spokesman for Police Regional Office 10.
Sabud said in an interview April 12 the knock-knock scare was intense in the Municipality of Tudela and the cities of Ozamiz and Oroquieta.
But the scare that was reportedly conducted by cultists with superpowers had even reached Zamboanga del Norte province, where some residents had put ashes on their doorsteps to drive away supernatural beings.
“We are appealing to bloggers and social media influencers to post positive inputs, not fake news that would just create unnecessary scare,” Sabud told Newsline Philippines.
Sabut also categorically denied reports that some policemen were behind the scare to divert people’s attention from some big political issues to the presence of cultists.
In their official statement posted on their FB page, the Misamis Occidental Provincial Police Office (MOPPO) said that the presence of cultists knocking on doors late at night was just hearsay.
Nevertheless, Police Colonel Rolindo Suguilon, MOPPO Provincial Director, urged people to be always on alert and report to the nearest police office if they see any wrongdoing.
The Oroquieta and Ozamis Police Offices also issued statements asking residents not to immediately believe in stories of supposed cultists knocking on doors at night and assured the people that the police will continue to protect them.
“There had been no verified reports received in our stations although there were phone calls from citizens reporting about unidentified persons knocking on doors, but when we responded, the callers said they were just relaying reports from other people,” said Police Major Peter Rhyan Revillas, Ozamiz Police Chief.
Last April 9, Chairwoman Delia Boniao of Barangay San Antonio here said that commotion ensued among residents over reports of an unidentified man who climbed on the roof of a house.
Boniao admitted however that she herself had not the seen the man.
Similar stories and reports of knockings on doors late at night began to spread in Misamis Occidental and in neighboring provinces.
