Assistant Secretary Mocha Uson —JOAN BONDOC
After mistakenly saying that Mt. Mayon is located in Naga City, Mocha Uson, assistant secretary at the Presidential Communications Operations Office, apologized for the gaffe but at the same time hit back at bashers who she vowed would never bring her down.
Uson said the volcano was in Naga in a video in which she was calling on people to focus on more important issues, such as the effects of its eruptions.
In a Facebook post, Uson said she was owning up to her mistake. “There is no excuse for my mistake. I apologize. I will do better next time.”
But she also lamented that many netizens zeroed in on her blunder and not on her call to help the people affected by the eruptions of Mayon, which is in Albay province. Naga is in Camarines Sur.
In a separate Facebook video, Uson said critics were trying to make her mistake a national issue, while supposedly staying silent on issues concerning the antidengue vaccine Dengvaxia and the hazing death of college student Horacio Castillo III.
Those trying to bring her down will not succeed, she said.
Her comment on Mayon’s location inspired memes that were quickly spread on social media.
These included posts showing the volcano, known for its near perfect cone, in different locations, such as in the vicinity of the Great Wall of China, Chocolate Hills in Bohol, Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy, and Statue of Liberty in New York City. —LEILA B. SALAVERRIA