MANILA - The Philippine National Police (PNP) on Saturday ordered the Highway Patrol Group (HPG) to intensify operations against vehicles without plate numbers and those with improvised ones.

PNP chief Gen. Rodolfo Azurin Jr. made the order as part of the anti-criminality campaign and traffic violations in the wake of reports that a white van is allegedly being used for kidnapping.

The report has been verified by the National Capital Region Police Office to be untrue after the supposed victim admitted to fabricating the story that three men on board a white van tried to kidnap her in Caloocan City.

Nonetheless, Azurin said, "We need to intensify our operations against stolen vehicles."

He said an effective way to counter this is to coordinate with the Land Transportation Office (LTO) to strengthen the campaign against car theft.

Azurin also ordered all police units in the country to intensify their monitoring of the widespread circulation of false information, especially those that pose threats and misinformation that may incite social conflict.

"I call the attention of our public to be more mindful of what we are posting on our social media sites and refrain from spreading unverified information from unknown sources that may lead to public disturbance, panic, and confusion," he said.

Azurin also advised the public to follow legitimate news outlets and pages of government agencies for information.

"If they have personal information or knowledge about a certain incident, it's better that they report it directly to the nearest police station or call the PNP's hotline numbers so the PNP can immediately respond to the incident," he added. (PNA)