NAPC reprimands social media head

National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC) Lead Convenor Liza Maza. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

Editor’s Note: Complaints were received about the previous photo used to accompany this story. I apologize for having read them late. We will determine what happened in the processing of the story; in the meantime, even if belatedly, we have removed the previous photo. -JN

The National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC) has reprimanded the administrator of its social media accounts after she posted derogatory comments against Vice President Leni Robredo and actress Agot Isidro on Monday.

The employee, whose identity was withheld, claimed she made an “honest mistake” when she posted her views on the government agency’s official Facebook and Twitter accounts, instead of her personal account.

On Tuesday, an NAPC official who spoke on condition of anonymity said that the employee in question had volunteered to be replaced as the agency’s social media administrator. She was not fired, however, only reprimanded and would be subjected to administrative sanctions, the official added.

“It was a personal opinion that was inadvertently posted. She said she failed to put up her  personal Facebook page because of confusion so it was posted on the NAPC page,” the NAPC official said.

At 3 p.m. on Monday, a post on the NAPC’s Facebook page went: “Ang pagkakapareho ni Agot Isidro at VP Leni Robredo—takot silang magutom (The similarity between Agot Isidro and VP Leni Robredo—they’re afraid to go hungry).” The same post also came out on the agency’s Twitter account.

The Facebook post had a link to an ABS-CBN story (“Antipoverty officials back Duterte’s stance on foreign aid pullout”) in which NAPC lead convener Liza Maza said that true reforms, not aid from other countries [were] needed to eliminate poverty.

Her statement was in reaction to President Duterte’s challenge for the European Union and the United States to withdraw financial aid to the Philippines after they criticized his government over the spate of killings due to the war on drugs.

The posts were deleted but only after these went viral on Facebook and Twitter, drawing criticisms from netizens.

The NAPC later posted an apology on its Facebook account, saying that “certain distasteful statements have been posted in our Facebook page that in no way reflect NAPC’s views or values. We sincerely apologize to Vice President Robredo, Ms Isidro, and to the public in general. We are now investigating this matter internally.”

The post came on the heels of the social media storm created by Isidro’s Facebook post in which she called President Duterte a “psychopath” for picking a fight with other countries.

Robredo had also expressed concern that the President’s tirades against the United States and the European Union may strain relations and affect international aid.

On Tuesday, Mr. Duterte dismissed Isidro’s post, saying,  “I leave to her her constitutional right to free expression. She should enjoy that.”

Several congressmen on the other hand, have sided with Isidro. “We should all be like Agot Isidro who called out the emperor for having no clothes. We should not just follow what the government says; that everything is OK. I think we should have more Agot Isidros in our midst,” said Akbayan party-list Rep. Tom Villarin.

Villarin and his fellow “Magnificent 7” congressmen, the small band of lawmakers who voice out their concerns about the Duterte administration every week, urged the public to be critical of the government if they want to.

“I think we should encourage more of our people to speak out and tell their families, friends, associates, the community as well as the nation, of the real sentiment on the President’s rogue priorities and erratic rhetoric. Let us encourage people like Agot,” Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman said.

For Ifugao Rep. Teddy Baguilat, while he would not call the President a “psychopath,” he would describe Mr. Duterte’s pronouncements as “erratic and provocative.”  —WITH A REPORT FROM NIKKO DIZON AND GIL C. CABACUNGAN