PNP says video of shooting is ”police drill video”

April 25, 2020

Police branded as fake news a video circulating on the internet that purportedly showed the close-range shooting of a person in a police checkpoint.

PNP Spokesperson, Police Brigadier General Bernard Banac, said Saturday the scene in the video clip is a drill to test the readiness of police to respond to hypothetical situations.

The 1-minute video clip uploaded in the Facebook page Motmot Vlogs (https://www.facebook.com/motmotvlogs/) showed a motorcycle rider wearing short pants being confronted by uniformed policemen at a checkpoint.

The man returns to retrieve something from his motorcycle and continue to approach the police officer until he appeared to have been shot and fell to the ground, according to Banac.

He said  at least two more persons with camera phones were seen on the video clip documenting the entire “incident”.

Banac said  upon verification by the PNP Anti-Cybercrime Group through digital forensic examination of the video clip, it was determined that it was indeed a video documentation of a simulation exercise (SIMEX) on Defense Battle Drill held by the 91st Special Action Company at its Quarantine Control Point along Maharlika Highway in Barangay Impig, Sipocot, Camarines Sur at 2:20 pm last April 23, 2020.

PNP-ACG noted that the video has been shared and posted in other social media platforms purportedly as yet another case of police shooting of an ECQ violator and has, in fact, elicited various reactions and comments from netizens.

Banac cautioned the public from further propagating this video clip as entirely different from its real nature and content.  PNP-PIO