Following public concern and panic caused by a viral video purporting to show kidnappings in Valenzuela City, Mayor Weslie Gatchalian met with the individuals who uploaded the video and clarified that it was not filmed in Valenzuela.

Valenzuela City Police Chief Colonel Nixon Cayaban, who also attended the meeting, said the individuals admitted to receiving the videos from other social media groups before sharing them.

The videos, uploaded on 28 January and 2 February, allegedly depicted a black van kidnapping a child in the Arkong Bato area and another at the Meycauayan-Valenzuela border.

“I am the one who posted the video about a child being abducted,” the female uploader said, adding that she shared it for awareness and did not anticipate the widespread alarm it caused in Valenzuela.

Gatchalian said the two uploaders are residents of Malabon and Obando, Bulacan.