Former sex blogger and performer Mocha Uson or Margaux Justiniano Uson in real life recently made headlines again after she was appointed as Presidential Communications Assistant Secretary by President Rodrigo Roa Duterte.
Mocha was a staunch supporter of President Duterte and previously appointed as a board member of the Movie and Television Review Classification Board (MTRCB) early this year.
Mocha has been active in social media and she uses the tool to voice out her opinions on different matters.
She even clinched a column from the Philippine Star because of her clout on social media platforms. She has received a lot of flak from netizens who aren’t in favor of her and those that questions her ability in performing the assigned tasks given to her position. She takes things with a grain of salt.
“Disagreements are part of a democracy and anyone who engages in the social media should be prepared when things get heated,” said Mocha.
“Kung hindi mo kayang ma-bully, huwag kang mag-social media,” Uson said in a report by Jun Veneracion on “24 Oras.”
Uson maintains a blog, often criticizes the mainstream media for supposed bias against Duterte. “Everytime na tayo ay susulat, social media man o mainstream media, isipin natin ‘yung buong bansa at ating mga kabataan. Maganda ‘yung constructive criticism. Hindi lang ‘yung maninira ka for the sake na maninira ka,” she said.
Uson also denied allegations that she was responsible for spreading “fake news” among netizens. “Hindi naman po totoo ‘yan. Hindi po ako nagre-repost ng fake news…hindi fake news ang opinion.”
There had been two instances in which Uson’s posts had led to accusations that she was the source of fake news. One of these was a photo of a nine-year old rape victim, accompanied with a denunciation of the Duterte administration’s critics over their failure to condemn the assault and support the government’s anti-crime policies. Later, they’ve found out that the victim in the photo was that of a Brazilian girl who was raped in Altamira in December of 2014.
Uson admitted that the item was not originally hers and she just reposted the said material.
Another of Uson’s posts that people took noticed with was her claim that a corporation owed the government some P96 billion in taxes based on “Article 263” of the Philippine Constitution.
Uson admitted again that she had a mistake this time around. “Pasensiya na po…Nag-erratum na po ako diyan. What I meant was tax code po,” she said on the GMA 7 Winnie Monsod hosted show, “Bawal ang Pasaway” recently.
Uson, however says that majority of her posts were factually accurate. “Unang-una po, hindi ako nagpapalaganap ng fake news. I indicate my sources. Karamihan naman po ay galing sa mainstream media. And as much as I can, kinukuha kop o directly from government agencies.”
Uson said, “Kapag balat sibuyas ka, wala kang puwang sa social media.” She’s used to the criticisms and online bashing. “It’s all part of the job and it’s part of democracy.”
As Presidential Communications Assistant Secretary, Mocha had very clear job description: to promote in social media the achievements and promising projects and policies of the Duterte administration.
“Ang scope ng trabaho ko ay ipaliwanag at ipabatid sa mga tao ang trabaho ni Pangulong Duterte, yung Dutertenomics. ‘Build, Build, Build,” she said in reference to the P8.2-trillion six-year infrastructure program of the Duterte administration.
