Bacolod Mayor Monico Puentevella yesterday sought the help of the National Bureau of Investigation to identify those responsible for spreading the rumor through social media and text messages last week that a Korean national in Bacolod City tested positive for Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus.

Puentevella said he wrote the NBI because he wants to catch the culprit who spread the rumor that caused many people to panic.

“I call that sabotage. I want the NBI to run after those responsible for this,” he said.

A case for sabotage will be filed against those responsible because he wants to stop this attempt to tarnish the image of Bacolod, Puentevella said.

“Whoever is involved must be investigated so this thing will not happen again. They should not destroy the image of Bacolod especially if their motive is tainted with politics,” he said.

The Research Institute for Tropical Medicine disclosed last week that the 22-year-old male student from Busan, South Korea, quarantined at the Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital in Bacolod City tested negative for MERS CoV.*CGS

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