Mocha Uson admits she has ‘staff’ for her ‘personal’ blog

Paterno R. Esmaquel II

This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.

Mocha Uson admits she has ‘staff’ for her ‘personal’ blog
This comes as the Duterte administration is accused of funding propaganda bloggers, such as Mocha Uson, to spread fake news and sway public opinion

MANILA, Philippines – A day after asserting at the Senate that she alone handles her Facebook page, Communications Assistant Secretary Mocha Uson admitted she has “staff” helping run her “personal” blog. 

Uson made this admission after Rappler reported on Thursday, October 5, that Mocha Uson Blog was “live” on Facebook while Uson herself was seated in a 5-hour Senate hearing on fake news.

Mocha Uson Blog was rebroadcasting, not just sharing, a live feed from state-run PTV during the Senate hearing on Wednesday, October 4.

The Rappler story explained how rebroadcasting is a complicated process that Uson could not have done on her own while she was busy facing senators.

Two hours after the Rappler story was published, Uson posted on Facebook, verbatim: “Ay RAPPLER ha. Gamit gamit din ng utak. HINDI BA AKO PWEDE MAG UTOS SA STAFF KO? So pag nag utos ako sa staff ko hindi na ako nagpapatakbo ng aking blog? Saan niyo po ba naiwan COMMON SENSE niyo po? Tanung lang po.) 

(Come on, Rappler. Use your brains. Can I not order my staff? So if I order my staff, does that mean I no longer handle my blog? Where did you leave your common sense? Just asking.)

MOCHA'S ADMISSION. Communications Assistant Secretary Mocha Uson admits she has 'staff' helping her run her 'personal' blog. Screenshot from Mocha Uson Blog

The Rappler story, however, did not say that Uson does not handle her own blog. 

What the story showed was that other people also handle the supposedly “personal” Mocha Uson Blog. 

Contrary to Uson’s assertion that no one else reviews her Facebook posts, the people handling Mocha Uson Blog have the authority not only to “review” her posts, but also to publish Facebook Live videos.

Uson is assistant secretary for social media under the Presidential Communications Operations Office, earning at least P106,000 ($2,073) in every month. It is unclear how many people belong to Uson’s staff.

Malacañang consultant helping Mocha

During the same hearing, Malacañang consultant and suspended lawyer Trixie Cruz Angeles admitted that she helps “feed” government information for Uson’s propaganda blog. 

Reacting to negative feedback on Twitter, Uson eventually claimed that Angeles has “nothing to do” with her blog, but Angeles’ previous statement was clear: “Actually what we do is we assist Asec Mocha, among other things, in dealing with her social media account.”

“May I clarify, my position at Asec Mocha’s office is not to handle her accounts but simply to feed to her priority government information that she can put out in her blog,” Angeles also said.

This comes as the Duterte administration is accused of funding propaganda bloggers, such as Uson, to spread fake news and sway public opinion. (READ: State-sponsored hate: The rise of the pro-Duterte bloggers)

Uson told Senator Antonio Trillanes IV at the Senate hearing, however, that she alone handles her personal blog. 

Meron ka bang filter? Meron ka bang nagre-review ng mga pino-post mo (Do you have a filter? Does anyone review your posts)?” Trillanes IV asked.

Ako lang po, Sir (It’s just me, Sir),” Uson answered.

Ikaw lang (Just you)?” Trillanes asked.

Wala pong nagre-review (No one reviews it),” she reiterated.

So walang nagve-vet ng veracity ng mga pino-post mo (So no one vets the veracity of your post?)?” Trillanes asked again. 

Ano lang naman po ‘yan, personal opinion ko lang ‘yan, Sir (It’s just my personal opinion, Sir),” Uson said. 

Uson made these statements under oath. – Rappler.com

*$1 = P51.10

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Paterno R. Esmaquel II

Paterno R. Esmaquel II, news editor of Rappler, specializes in covering religion and foreign affairs. He finished MA Journalism in Ateneo and MSc Asian Studies (Religions in Plural Societies) at RSIS, Singapore. For story ideas or feedback, email pat.esmaquel@rappler.com