By Tara Yap

Amid reports of a hostage situation at a school in Lambunao, Iloilo yesterday, Mayor Jason Gonzales dispelled rumors on Facebook, posting, “The report that there’s been a school hostage taking in Barangay Caninguan is a hoax.”
“There is no cause for alarm,” he assured.
Word of the alleged hostage situation claimed students and teachers were being held by masked men, with claims the assailants were spotted in the barangay later that day.
Gonzales and other local mayors are appealing for the public’s vigilance, particularly, after recent clashes with the New People’s Army (NPA) that have occurred throughout the province./WDJ