Mayor Abby considers legal action over malicious Facebook post

Makati Mayor Abby Binay has called out a malicious and misleading Facebook post that used a two-year-old photo of a private entity to tarnish the city's reputation.

The mayor has also instructed the city’s law department to explore filing charges against the creators and administrators of Streetlife Manila, as well as those who shared the malicious post.

On Tuesday, Streetlife Manila posted a photo of a clamped motorcycle with a caption stating, “Naputulan ng kadena si Manong Angkas, itinabi niya saglit, imbes na tulungan sana, Clamp at Ticket ang binigay ng enforcer." (Manong Angkas parked his motorcycle by the roadside when the chain broke, but instead of helping him, the enforcer clamped his vehicle and issued a ticket).

“Streetlife Manila is maliciously spreading fake news and disinformation on social media,” Mayor Abby said.

She noted that the post clearly intended to put the city government of Makati in a bad light. “The malicious post has gone viral and elicited harsh comments against the city from netizens,” she said.

She pointed out that it was not even an employee of the Public Safety Department (PSD) who was involved in the incident, but a traffic enforcer of the Makati Parking Authority (MAPA). It is a private corporation authorized to implement traffic schemes and parking regulations within the Makati Central Business District.

MAPA has clarified that the incident shown in the photo happened about two years ago.

Based on its investigation, one of their traffic enforcers passed by the abandoned motorcycle on the sidewalk and promptly clamped it. He then asked a fellow enforcer to wait for the driver’s return. It was subsequently learned that the driver went to buy spare parts to replace the broken chain, and the MAPA enforcers proceeded to remove the clamp and no longer issued him a violation ticket.

“Contrary to the caption on the post, the driver was given due consideration for his predicament and was not even issued an ordinance violation receipt,” Mayor Abby said.

“Digital content creators should be prudent and responsible. In pursuing social media clout, this Facebook page has resorted to spreading false information and exposed our officials and employees to online abuse and harassment,” she said.