Assistant Secretary Mocha Uson takes questions from the press on Wednesday at Naia. —JOAN BONDOC
Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Assistant Secretary Esther Margaux “Mocha” Uson on Wednesday returned the award given to her on Sunday by the University of Santo Tomas Alumni Association Inc. (USTAAI), saying she did so to relieve its officials of the “bullying” they got from those questioning her selection.
The pro-Duterte-blogger-turned-Palace-official lashed back at critics, accusing them of suppressing the association’s “right to free expression.”
She also came to the defense of its president, Henry Tenedero, who announced his resignation on Tuesday.
“Despite the decision of the USTAAI not to take back the award given to me, I decided to return the award because other persons are trying to divert attention from more pressing matters like Dengvaxia and the other events in our country,” Uson said in a statement.
“It was returned earlier today. They accepted it and I returned it because I was not the one who asked for that award. I just accepted it because it was given (to me),” she added.
The USTAAI named Uson among this year’s recipients of the “Gawad Thomasian Alumni for Government Service Award.” A photo posted on social media showing her accepting the award set off a firestorm among netizens, especially UST students and graduates.
The university administration distanced itself from the award. Other awardees like former Health Secretary Carmencita Noreiga-Reodica and Akbayan Rep. Tomasito Villarin said they would return their awards to USTAAI, while other UST-affiliated groups called on the association to withdraw Uson’s award.
“I would just like to say that not all Thomasians are judgmental of their fellows. That wasn’t what was taught to us,” Uson said. “I hope that with my decision to return the award, they will stop bullying USTAAI. Their bullying of Henry Tenedero is too much. He’s already old.”
Tenedero took responsibility for the brouhaha and resigned on Tuesday.
“Some Thomasians rally on the streets to fight for freedom of speech and freedom of expression, but then the freedom of USTAAI to express its choice to include me among their awardee is being suppressed,” Uson said. “So, who is now curtailing freedom of expression?”
“Do they embody the Thomasian core values with their derision of a person like me?” she said.
Uson called out in particular her fellow USTAAI awardee, Sen. Joel Villanueva, who said he would have thought twice about accepting the award if he had known that Uson was also a recipient.
“For me, he should not be sanctimonious because he was the one whom the Ombudsman decided should be dismissed because of his case of graft and corruption,” she said. “We share the same faith. I hope he does not think too highly of himself.”
Uson also denied using her blog to spread fake news — as long alleged by her critics.
“I am not [a member of the] media,” she said. “My blog contains opinions. You may not agree with them but they are not news.”