Presidential Communications Assistant Secretary Mocha Uson greeted supporters of President Rodrigo Duterte in Milan, Italy, being part of Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano’s official entourage for an international conference.
In one live video posted on her Mocha Uson blog page last Monday, Uson was seen with a supporter of President Duterte named Tina, as they were strolling on the streets of Milan. They also took a selfie behind the Milan Cathedral, where Uson teased Tina, “Buma-blogger si ate oh! Blogger ka na rin?!” (Sister’s goin’ bloggin’! You’re now a blogger too?)
As she was conversing with Tina on their way to grabbing some tea, Uson revealed that members of the Filipino community met with Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano and Labor and Employment Secretary Silvestre Bello III.
As Uson related, she attended a Command Conference for Africa, Middle East and Europe, where DFA Sec. Cayetano participated. She shared that the needs of overseas Filipino workers were some of the things discussed by the officials during the conference.
In another video posted on the same day, Uson, Tina and other members of the Filipino community in Milan were shown enjoying their warm cups of tea. One supported named Bong cheered, “Mabuhay si Mocha!” (Long live, Mocha!)
Uson also let out her sense of humor, making references to her slip about Mayon Volcano being located in Naga City, instead of Albay. She asked her company where Mayon Volcano is, to which they replied in unison, “Nasa Naga!” (It’s in Naga!) Uson has been widely criticized for the mistake, as people pointed out how a government official should know such basic information.
Further capitalizing on her Mayon-in-Naga incident, Uson made the audience in a large gathering of Milan-based Filipinos say “Naga!” instead of “Cheese!” during a photo-op, as seen in this video posted Sunday.
As she socialized with Filipinos in the said Italian city, known as one of the world’s fashion capitals, she was a no-show on the Senate hearing on fake news on Tuesday. Sen. Grace Poe, who chairs the Senate Committee on Public Information, at one point questioned Uson’s dual roles as a government official and as a blogger, and whether or not it was time to shut down her controversial blog.
Uson hit back at the senator through her blog, saying she will not shut it down and maintaining that her platform is not just blog. She said, “Boses ito ng ordinaryong Pilipinong binusalan ng mga elitista at ilang media.” (This is the voice of the ordinary Filipino, silenced by elitists and some media.) JB
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