MANILA, Philippines – Former Communications Assistant Secretary Esther Margaux “Mocha” Uson is back in the Duterte administration as deputy administrator of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA).
According to the list of presidential appointees as of September 26 and released Monday, the pro-administration blogger was appointed last September 23, 2019, as Deputy Executive Director V (Deputy Administrator) of OWWA, an attached agency of the Department of Labor and Employment.
The controversial official resigned from her post in the Presidential Communications Operations Office on October 3, 2018. Uson had been criticized for her lewd “pepedederalismo” federalism video jingle with blogger-friend Drew Olivar and another video of them mocking the sign language.
INQUIRER.net had learned that she was fired but Malacañang officials had denied this.
READ: Mocha resigns | Source says Duterte fired Mocha but Palace insists she resigned
Uson later ran in the recent May 2019 midterm elections as a representative of AA Kasosyo party-list but lost.
Unconstitutional?
Citing the 1987 Constitution and the Local Government Code, opposition lawmaker Bayan Muna Rep. Ferdinand Gaite said that a losing candidate is barred from assuming a position in the government within a year after the elections.
But Panelo said there’s a Commission on Elections resolution that ruled party-list nominees are not covered by the one year ban.
Because of this technicality, poll watchdog Kontra Daya convenor Danilo Arao said Congress should expand the one-year ban on government appointments to losing party-list nominees, particularly the first, second and third nominees “to prove that they are not spineless puppets of Malacañan Palace.”
Arao also pointed out that as Deputy Executive Director V of OWWA, Uson would get a monthly salary of at least P155,030 (Salary Grade 29-1) which translates to P1.86 million annually.
“Lest we forget, her salary shall come from the people’s taxes. This all the more necessitates the need to expose the appointing authority’s temerity and Uson’s audacity,” the professor stressed.
Department Secretaries Ernesto Pernia, Carlos Dominguez, Wendel Avisado, Delfin Lorenzana, Carlito Galvez Jr., Mark Villar, Arthur Tugade were also appointed as ex-officio members of the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council based on the appointment document. /gsg