MALACAÑANG appealed Wednesday to the public to stop disseminating "unverified" information in the aftermath of the magnitude 5.5 earthquake that rocked Batangas last Tuesday.
Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella called on the public to remain alert and vigilant but refrain from spreading false news.
"We ask our people, especially the residents of the province of Batangas, to remain vigilant and alert in light of last night’s earthquake," Abella said in a statement.
"Let us refrain from forwarding news from unverified sources that may cause undue alarm and panic," he added.
Abella said the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) "has not made any predictions of earthquakes or volcanic eruptions as a consequence of the Magnitude 5.5 earthquake."
The presidential spokesperson made the statement following unverified reports circulating on social media that there might be a possible eruption of Mount Banahaw.
Phivolcs director Renato Solidum dismissed the report as "hoax."
Batangas has been put under a state of calamity, after a magnitude 5.5 quake struck the province Tuesday night. (VoxPop Philippines)
