After a short stint on the Philippines’ censorship board, sexy dancer and popular social media personality Margaux “Mocha” Uson was appointed an assistant secretary of the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) yesterday.
Her first order of business? Fight fake news by sending her countrymen “the correct news”.
“Ang ating pong tututukan sa PCOO ay ang mailapit ang mga ordinaryong Pilipino sa pamahalaan sa pamamagitan ng Social Media. At ma-idiretso ang TAMANG BALITA sa ating kababayan sa pamamagitan ng SOCIAL MEDIA,” Uson said in a Facebook post on the MOCHA USON BLOG, which has about 5 million followers as of posting time.
(What my priority will be in the PCOO is to close the gap between ordinary Filipinos and the government through social media. And to directly send the correct news to our countrymen through social media)
Her appointment was made official through a letter issued by President Rodrigo Duterte on May 8.
Before her swearing in as an assistant secretary, Uson shared on her page at least 2 links from Pinoytrending.altervista.org and Trending News Portal, sites known to circulate fake stories (although they often include links to mainstream news sites as well).
Uson’s critics call her a rabid fanatic and say her page is used to spread propaganda, a claim she refutes, saying that even if blogs are not mainstream sites, they cite and link to “credible sources.” She also denies being a fanatic and calls her support for Duterte “patriotic.”
She is also known for popularizing the term “presstitutes” as an insult to journalists with an alleged bias against the president.
Prior to becoming a famous supporter of Duterte and the administration, Uson founded the Mocha Girls, a sultry dance group, in 2006.
She has also appeared in several films, including softcore porn films like “Seksing Masahista” (The Sexy Masseuse), “So Much Pain So In Love”, and “Butas 2” (Hole).
https://www.facebook.com/Mochablogger/photos/a.336559381521.189003.319779186521/10153805603061522/?type=3&permPage=1
Uson also had a sex column in FHM Philippines and starred in several sex tutorial videos online.
https://www.facebook.com/MochaMemes/photos/p.10156036698675394/10156036698675394/?type=1&opaqueCursor=AbouNp_QfOyGVPXH1huMz11fl-FXlVxTCHILwOe3zxjJNo8pGJFMJGC7lExIdOB1jSePREAefvH-m0ePme1-rM2BhzUHVD3nzmYErjtR4dDZ9pAwushbXb818YMeUYmH5g1tRZAntTkKt5zhO0KM5m2Zycl04-0CKBs-or95OdWqgWu06qUBWRwqgZQOkVtleOipnJbv54VZ81fgv2w2v6OEvYuCQB3L4opztS59xLvH0Oxr7ljKCJeLvijv1QXjG-GiP1pYMctSldbBhi1GA9DdKmEuOHRwwCG4Kqu49g1A_z4qBXAkHcoR7OkHjuPnbaKqj76ghALlZSMSFsG74PvTN-h2DpFzBRuqMLgkmWE01s195v-K7z6o7obqEfhQZKl8owg4yD3pTB06AMzfb8vs&theater
But Uson says she’s changed.
“Ako po ay nagbago na para sa tunay na pagbabago (I have changed for ‘real change’),” Uson told the hosts of ABS-CBN morning show Umagang Kay Ganda last August 2016.
https://www.facebook.com/Mochablogger/photos/p.10154722054291522/10154722054291522/?type=1&opaqueCursor=Abr-9WDwHXemFxcLB3NdGBvaUpSIIRU8FLBOZY5YKwAsoNdg8PLxomkv5u4lF6yMaYNVa7tmnNJlU5NqRqTxOje3fJxNvPK_xHS98IC6bvI3femeFtcGtJFomX-a3zcQkF8JOW6WtsFUp4WCD_Duems1eW1lPADQUuvJxtcCuPd3RkQz3NQOhK3Kgtw7s_2_hQ54ao4sjtgf7qKzdeqtY8RdEWpK8cyIiNFoC4Jdczg4pryTUtW74mAxgPt9Ti5TJB92KJHGMpzPo9vU6ivUxOjXueC-0j-3OGQNzW_Ir0JxrT6C8GD_iNmiRVw4J2n6WfbiHOhZSiQNdxVUTzbHBx7ZRbWuF2DQPLBCM2MgfFN_ELbJKrm8IJgCOwYkBxjzwFK7enYxz98WeS_VQXKq0JCc&theater
She told the hosts that she would no longer be performing in skimpy outfits or doing sexually suggestive performances.
During her stint as a member of the Movie Review and Classification Board (MTRCB), she had said she would make it her priority to ban softcore porn — similar to films she had starred in in the past — from television.
But Mocha’s reasons for shifting from simply entertaining to campaigning and now taking an active role in the Duterte administration date back to when she was in her second year of medical school at the University of Santo Tomas.
She shared the story in a post last February 2016 at the beginning of the last presidential campaign.
(English translation: Before I became a full time entertainer, I went to medical school in Manila. I was a second year medical student when my father was killed. He was an RTC (Regional Trial Court) Judge in Pangasinan, my hometown. He was killed in the line of duty in an ambush shooting. Several years later, still no justice for my father. This is what I ask myself – if my own father who is a Government Official, a JUDGE, has not been given justice, how much for for ordinary citizens? Can you just imagine what’s happening in our society? If a JUDGE who DISPENSES JUSTICE could not be given protection and justice by our government, how much more for ordinary folks? The main suspect in the murder of my father was a powerful POLITICIAN. Since my father’s death at least 200 lawyers and judges were killed in the last 10 years in the country.)
(PLEASE HAVE MERCY. Wake up! The continuous rise of crime in our country is now a concern for all. Will we have to wait for something bad to happen to our loved ones before we come to our senses? We need a TOUGH and STRONG PRESIDENT. WE NEED AN IRON HAND IN DEALING WITH CRIMINALS IN THIS COUNTRY. We need a president who is BRAVE AND WHO HAS GENUINE CONCERN FOR OUR COUNTRY and that is none other than DUTERTE!)
According to Rappler, Judge Oscar Uson had been serving in the local court of Tayug, a town in Pangasinan, a province in the northern Philippines.
He was receiving death threats but decided to carry a gun instead of hiring a security detail. Uson’s family members appealed to then President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, but received no response.
After having previously spent time performing gigs at Malate bars, Mocha will now be dedicating her time to handling social media for the president’s communications team.
The PCOO manages all communications channels under the office of the president, including the state’s official Facebook page that publishes videos and updates followers about the activities of the President.
