Mayon is now in Naga – that is, if you listen to Mocha Uson
Presidential Communications Assistant Secretary Mocha Uson (File photo by RICHARD A. REYES / Philippine Daily Inquirer)
A few hours after she returned her controversial alumni award, Presidential Communications Assistant Secretary Esther Margaux “Mocha” Uson trended again on social media – not because of praises for her magnanimity, but because she referred to Mount Mayon as being in Naga City in Camarines Sur.
In a live video on Facebook posted Wednesday morning, Uson blasted her critics for making a big fuss out of the Thomasian Alumni for Government Service (TAGS) award given to her by the University of Santo Tomas Alumni Association Inc. (USTAAI).
Uson said media should instead focus on more pressing issues, particularly the Dengvaxia controversy, the alleged bribery of pork barrel scam queen Janet Lim-Napoles to Sen. Franklin Drilon, and the most important, the impending disaster in Naga: the looming eruption of Mount Mayon.
“Ginagamit po ng ilang mga tao itong maliit na issue sa award para pagtakpan yung issue ng Dengvaxia, issue ng pagtanggap diumano ni Senator Drilon ng pera galing kay Napoles, at yung pinakamahalaga pa yung nangyayari sa Naga, ‘Yang pag-aalburuto ng Mayon volcano,” Uson said in the eight-minute video.
[Some people are using this tiny issue of my award to cover up the issue of Dengvaxia, the issue of Sen. Drilon’s acceptance of Napoles’ bribes, and the most important, what is happening in Naga, the looming eruption of Mayon volcano.]
“Dapat po doon nakatutok ang ating mga balita,” she added.
[Our news should be focusing on these.]
Mount Mayon, which is often introduced to students as early as kindergarten, is in Albay, the neighboring province of Camarines Sur.
The boo-boo trended on social media Wednesday night, drawing different reactions from netizens – some poking fun on her apparent “ignorance” of Philippine geography.
“Gurrrrl, nasa Albay kasi ang Mayon, wala sa Naga. Halatang nagtutulog ka lang sa HEKASI class nung Grade School,” netizen Rupert Mangilit said on a Facebook post, referring to the elementary subject Geography, History, and Civics.
[Girl, Mayon is in Albay, not in Naga. It’s obvious that you’re just sleeping in the Hekasi class in grade school.]
Uson’s TAGS award caused an uproar among Thomasians and netizens.
She has long been criticized for propagating fake news online, spreading hate against critics of the government, and discrediting journalists from “mainstream media outlets.
The uproar prompted the resignation of the USTAAI’s president, Henry S. Tenedero, last Tuesday.
And true to form, Uson apologized in an almost seven-minute video for yet another “tiny mistake” and again blasted at her critics for for making a big fuss out of it.
She also swiped at their alleged silence on the Dengvaxia controversy and the death of University of Santo Tomas (UST) freshman law student Horacio Tomas Castillo III.
Uson works as the PCOO’s assistant secretary for social media with a salary grade level of between SG 27 and 29 and a base pay of between P87,000 and P106,000. /atm
