State television PTV is now conducting an investigation on a supposed error in one of its social media posts on Twitter that used the hashtag #DutertePalpak.
The hashtag trended early this week as critics of the government slam its response in handling the COVID-19 pandemic a year after the country was placed in lockdown.
In a statement, PTV said that the “wrong hashtag” was used in sharing a story about Duterte’s directive to provide the public with free face masks in the face of a recent surge in COVID-19 cases.
RELATED STORY: Duterte to Roque: ‘Bakit ka nagpositive?’
“At around 7:00 p.m., a post of PTV on Twitter circulated with the wrong hashtag which was never in the original caption which reads: ‘President Rodrigo R. Duterte reiterated his order to provide free face masks for the public especially to those who cannot buy their own’,” PTV said.
The network said it’s investigating to determine if there was a malicious intent on the post.
“PTV is currently investigating the intent behind this malicious post. Our apologies,” it added.
Some netizens were quick to save a screenshot of the post of PTV which was taken down immediately.
READ ON: ‘Maliit na bagay’, Duterte says on beating COVID-19 pandemic
“No need to apologize PTV-4. You just told the truth,” a Twitter user said.
Malacanang downplayed the criticisms insisted that the government was doing an “excellent” job of managing the pandemic before the variants of struck. (TDT)
