EVEN after leaving her post on Wednesday, October 3, former assistant secretary of the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Esther Margaux “Mocha” Uson will still face an investigation being conducted by the Office of the Ombudsman.
Ombudsman Samuel Martires ordered Uson and her boss, PCOO Secretary Martin Andanar, to respond to complaints regarding the videos she posted on her controversial Facebook page, “Mocha Uson Blog.”
“We issued an order requiring her and Andanar to file comments,” Martires said as reported by The Philippine Daily Inquirer.
Martires guaranteed that Uson’s resignation would have no effect on the pending criminal and administrative proceedings. He added that should Uson be found guilty of committing a series offense punishable by dismissal, she could be perpetually banned from public office.
Ombudsman tracks down Uson’s offenses
Reporters also obtained a letter dated September 28 addressed to Uson that invoked Section 26 of the Ombudsman Act of 1989. In the letter, Uson was given ten days to submit her written explanation in connection with a complaint filed on Sept. 20 by representatives of the Philippine Federation of the Deaf.
The advocates for the deaf had accused Uson and her blogger-friend Drew Olivar of violating the Magna Carta for Disabled Persons, the Cybercrime Prevention Act and the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees.
Reports of the duo’s participation in the controversial federalism jingle video purportedly as part of the government’s campaign for federalism information dissemination were also cited in the Ombudsman’s letter.
The Office of the Ombudsman, then under Conchita Carpio Morales, also accused Uson of “deliberately using misleading statements” and of showing “incompetence” in several social media posts attacking opposition figures such as Vice President Leni Robredo and Senators Bam Aquino, Risa Hontiveros and Antonio Trillanes IV.
Uson to Robredo: Eyeliner to eyeliner
On Thursday, October 4 Uson lashed out on Vice President Leni Robredo anew for saying that she was still liable for allegedly spreading lies. The former assistant secretary said that it was Robredo who was full of lies and scandals.
“Who is really telling a lie? Even your position as Vice President is a big lie,” Uson said.
She lambasted Robredo’s previous video message, which was presented at the 60th UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs meeting in 2017, regarding extrajudicial killings in the country. She even claimed that Robredo’s video endangered the lives of overseas Filipino workers.
“The fight is even now. I have nothing to hide. I have no fear. Let’s face each other, eye to eye, eyeliner to eyeliner,” she said.
