Suspected rumor monger arrested in Valenzuela

MANILA, Philippines -  A man suspected of spreading rumors about children in Valenzuela City being abducted and later found dead minus their internal organs was arrested yesterday after he called a police hotline.

Mayor Sherwin Gatchalian earlier said they have “verified these reports to be non-existent and are at best without any basis or proof.”

City police chief Senior Superintendent Eric Serafin Reyes identified the suspect as dance instructor Gerry Linde Usog, 41, who is also known by the aliases “Borne” and “Jerry Fernandez. He is a resident of Barangay Karuhatan.

City prosecutor Benedict Sta. Cruz has charged Usog with violating Article 154 (unlawful utterances), Article 178 (using fictitious names and concealing true name) and Article 200 (grave scandal) of the Revised Penal Code.

Senior Police Officer 2 Armando Delima said Usog was traced through a telephone call he made at a neighborhood store taunting the police for their inaction on the alleged incidents.

Delima said that at about 9:25 a.m., Usog called up police hotline Patrol 117, which relayed the call to the Tactical Operations Center of the city police and received by Teresita Marzan.

Marzan said Usog berated the police for allegedly not acting on the reports, adding that a girl whose eyes had been taken out was lying in state at the De Gula Compound in Barangay Gen. T. de Leon.

A team led by Reyes went to the area to check Usog’s claim and found it to be a hoax. Usog was arrested after Gina Padillo, owner of the store at which Usog made the call, pointed to him as the culprit.

At the police holding cell, Usog admitted to The STAR that everything he said on the phone about the girl was not true. When asked why he was in jail, Usog said he might get into bigger trouble if he spoke about it and refused to say anything further. Police have yet to establish whether Usog worked alone or with an organized group.

Reyes said the public should be more critical and not just believe anything at face value.– With Pete Laude