With over 5 million followers on social media, you’d think that one would know to be careful with what he or she says on Facebook Live.
Not Mocha Uson.
Yesterday, people couldn’t help but react to blogger and Communications Assistant Secretary Mocha Uson saying that the erupting Mayon Volcano is in Naga City, Camarines Sur and not Albay province, where it actually is.
It may have been an innocent mistake, but it stood out because Uson said it during a Facebook Live video where she accused people of using her controversial award from the University of Santo Tomas (UST) to cover up issues like Dengvaxia, the dengue vaccine used by the previous administration that may have caused the death of several people.
“And the most important issue, the one that’s happening in Naga, the eruption of the Mayon Volcano,” Uson said.
While both Naga and Albay are in the Bicol region, people wondered how anyone could make that mistake considering Mount Mayon is one of the most well-known tourist destinations in the Philippines.
When Mocha Uson said that the Mayon Volcano is in Naga pic.twitter.com/wTAaLZeH1O
— Mica (@SpongyMica) January 24, 2018
https://twitter.com/michaelsean25/status/956182981571325952
Mocha Uson is so fucking powerful she moved Mayon to Naga.
— Hanina (@hellohanina) January 24, 2018
BRAKING NEWS: Mayon Volcano has opened its second branch at Naga City.
source: PCOO Asec. Mocha Uson
— adrian (@siadrianito_) January 24, 2018
Even actor Enchong Dee, who’s from Naga, couldn’t help but throw a little shade.
“Maybe I should go back to my home province, I heard we had a new volcano,” Dee tweeted. Check out that facepalm emoji.
https://twitter.com/enchongdee777/status/956172858043977728
But Dee, one of the most “woke” Filipino celebrities, did not get off scot-free. Uson’s supporters came to her rescue and called Dee out for making fun of her.
“Instead of being a good example to the youth and showing that it’s wrong to laugh at other people’s mistakes, you just had to bring this up,” one tweet said in Filipino.
https://twitter.com/2japjx/status/956255979812761600
Another Twitter user even copied Uson’s logic and criticized Dee for reacting to Uson’s mistake, but staying mum on the dengue vaccine issue.
ang oa mo enchong,sa dengvaxia wla kang coment sa simpling mali twitter mo kaagad?huwowwwwww,ikaw na,
— combat (@Gianne1029) January 25, 2018
Other members of the Mocha Girls, the dance group Uson heads, responded to Dee’s joke with homophobic slurs.
“What do you call a man who bullies a woman? Gay or supot (uncircumcised)?” the post reads.
Uson was one of President Rodrigo Duterte’s staunchest supporters during his campaign in 2016.
While this time could have just been a slip of the tongue, Uson has shared misleading stories online on multiple occasions.
In 2016, she shared a photo of a dead child’s body with a caption that says the child was a victim of rape in the Philippines, even though the picture was taken in Brazil.
She has also spread more pointed fake news like that time she insinuated that Vice President Leni Robredo and opposition senators ignored the death of a cop, even though the incident happened a year before she posted about it.
Although Uson had apologized for getting the location of Mayon wrong, netizen Jervis Manahan called into question how a highly-paid government official could not know basic geography.
“I would forgive if it was an uncommon trivia, but Mayon is very active now and it’s all over the news so it’s no excuse that an honorable ASec of the PCOO doesn’t know where it is,” Manahan said.
In another Facebook Live video posted last night, Uson acknowledged her mistake but reiterated her point about how issues like this are prioritized over others.
“It’s funny, such a small issue is made into a headline. It makes it to national news and is trending. But when it comes to Dengvaxia, you’re silent,” she said.
This Mayon Volcano issue comes just days after people reacted negatively to the Alumni Award for Government Service UST gave Uson on Sunday. People criticized the institution for awarding Uson despite being a source of erroneous news.
