De Lima wants NBI to trace prank texters on 'radiation threats'

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said she is keen on ordering the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to determine the source of the prank text messages spawning fears of a radiation threat from Japan. At a news briefing on Tuesday, De Lima said the sources of the text messages could be held liable for committing "crimes against public order" under Article 155, Chapter 5 of the Revised Penal Code. She added that the NBI has an existing order to go after sources of prank text messages and false bomb threats. The order stemmed from fake bomb threats that circulated since the January 25, 2011 bus explosion in Makati. "We should not underestimate the consequences of false texts and false alarms. It can have really injurious consequences and therefore, must be taken seriously. Actions must be taken against these," said De Lima. She added that while the NBI is not technically capable of tracing the source, the bureau still has the capacity to determine the source. The National Telecommunications Commission has already said it can only trace the sources' mobile phone numbers but not the owners of the phones who are using prepaid phone cards. Hoax The text messages, which circulated on Monday, warned that there will be "acid rain" in the Philippines supposedly because of radioactive clouds from Japan, which has been devastated by a powerful earthquake and a tsunami on March 11. The bogus threats even prompted the Polytechnic University of the Philippines to suspend its classes. On Tuesday, De Lima said that damage suits can be filed against the source of the hoax because of what happened to PUP. "That's damage and injury to the public and to the public welfare," she said. De Lima said she herself received the text message from a male reporter. "I did not believe it right away. I tuned in to BBC, because the text message said the information came from BBC. So when I turned on the television, there's no mention of anything like that [radioactive rain]," said De Lima. The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) has already appealed to the public on Monday not to fall for hoax text messages about doomsday scenarios. The Department of Health (DOH) has also assured that the radiation leak from the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan poses no immediate threat to the Philippines. – VVP, GMA News