By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

Both the Philippine Army and the Negros Occidental provincial government dismissed recent information claiming members of the Islamic State-backed Maute group are planning major attacks on June 30, calling it a “hoax.”
An e-mail received by local media yesterday claimed the Maute group is planning to conduct massive terror attacks on major cities across the country on the said date.
Terrorists, the report claimed, will hijack liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), fuel and oil tankers, and use them as improvised explosive devices (IEDs) with installations such as police stations, camps, malls, Christian churches, and even mosques as supposed targets.
3rd Infantry Division (3ID) commander, Major General Jon Aying, called the report “false.”
“We did receive the information, but we are not the ones circulating it,” Aying said.
The 3ID commander added they previously received similar information regarding attacks during Independence Day celebrations.
“It’s more of a hoax but we cannot underestimate the possibilities,” he noted.
Negros Occidental Provincial Planning and Development Coordinator Ma. Lina Sanogal, meanwhile, said the information was also reviewed by Task Force Buglas during a security briefing with Negros Occidental Governor Alfredo Marañon, Jr.
Sanogal also dismissed the information, noting, even though the report is a hoax, law enforcement agencies in the province were still ordered to validate just to be on the safe side./WDJ