BACOLOD City – Utterly ridiculous, preposterous.

This was the reaction of Negros Occidental Governor Alfredo G. Marañon Jr. on April 5, 2019 after he was tagged in a meme that criticized Bacolod Rep. Greg Gasataya over his alleged rest house in Bago City.

The Facebook meme posted by a certain Sun Tzu showed Marañon lambasting Gasataya for owning a cliff-side rest house worth P10 million.

The caption of the meme, which was attributed to Marañon, reads “Ako 3-termer nga congressman kag governor wala makapatindog rest house pero ikaw ya Greg 1 term lang Php10 million ang rest house. WOW!!!”

A meme is a humorous image, video, piece of text, etc., that is copied (often with slight variations) and spread rapidly by Internet users.

“Sun Tzu’s post and those responsible for posting this fake news must be reported to Facebook,” Marañon said in a signed statement.

“The social media is already awash with fake news. This should not be tolerated. I vehemently deny I ever said what was written in the caption,” the governor added.

The governor advised the fake account holder, Sun Tzu, who is said to be a broadcaster in a Church-owned radio station, to take down his fake stories at once “because they are malicious, libelous as they illegally quote news sources without permission, thus, eventually besmirching the reputation of those involved.” 

“I will not take this sitting down if you continue this habit of yours of spreading lies, half truths and fake news; of quoting me as a news source, of putting words into my mouth,” the governor warned.