‘Some leaked PNP memos may be fake’

MANILA, Philippines — Some of the memoranda from police units that warn of unrest in the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) could be fake, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said yesterday.

PNP spokesperson Col. Jean Fajardo raised the scenario after some police officials, who supposedly authored the memos, denied issuing the documents.

“We cannot discount that possibility,” she said in a text message.

In an interview with “The Chiefs” on One News channel Wednesday night, Fajardo said some of the officers mentioned in the memoranda denied “the existence of these documents.”

“Even their regional directors were already directed to investigate and explain and they themselves claimed they did not issue those documents,” Fajardo said.

The Criminal Investigation and Detection Group and Anti-Cybercrime Group (ACG) are investigating the leakage of the memoranda over the weekend, which caused a ruckus as the documents warned of a destabilization plot in the AFP.

Fajardo said the police officials could face administrative sanctions if it turns out there was negligence on their part, which led to the unauthorized release of classified documents to the public.

She earlier told reporters in a phone interview they are investigating several civilians related to the memoranda but clarified in the TV interview that they have only identified one person not from the PNP and who apparently posted a copy of the document on social media.

“The ACG initially identified one individual outside of the PNP organization that may have leaked the document,” Fajardo said.