Will the law finally catch up with Mocha Uson?
Uson, one of the most polarizing figures in President Rodrigo Duterte’s government, was summoned by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) yesterday for allegedly posting fake news on her Facebook page.
NBI Deputy Director Ferdinand Lavin told a newspaper that Uson was asked to appear at their office on May 18 after two complainants, named Angelo Landagan and Shaira Agting, accused the former entertainer of violating Republic Act 10175, or the Bayanihan (“Camaraderie”) to Heal as One Act of 2020. Section 6(f) of the law prohibits individuals from spreading false information in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Read: Outrage, ridicule ensue after former singer-actress Mocha Uson is appointed to new gov’t position
Uson was summoned because she wrote sometime last month that the Department of Health gave personal protective equipment (PPEs) to healthcare workers. Uson attached a photo of several frontliners wearing PPEs, but netizens pointed out that the image was actually from the SM Foundation, which donated equipment to healthcare providers.
The high-ranking officer of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration ended up apologizing for her gaffe, but alleged that she got the photos (and the wrong information) from the Philippine Star‘s website.
Lavin told reporters they will investigate the former singer because they were ordered to do so by Department of Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra. Aside from this, he said there were “other complaints” against the influencer.
“There was an order of SOJ (Secretary of Justice Guevarra) before for the NBI to investigate fake news,” Lavin said. “We included her in the investigation re[garding] posting of PPEs.”
This is not the first time that Uson has been accused of being a fake news purveyor— listing all the false information she has written deserves a Wikipedia entry of its own. Uson hardly fact-checks the stuff she posts, like the one where a netizen accused Vice President Leni Robredo of donating just five pieces of bread and a bottle of water to victims of the Taal Volcano eruption. Robredo denied this, but Uson did not apologize for posting the netizen’s complaint.
There was also the time when Uson posted a photo of a girl who was allegedly raped and murdered in the Philippines, but it turned out the child is from Brazil.
Meanwhile, Uson is far from feeling daunted over the NBI’s summons, and even posted a copy of her subpoena on her Facebook account today. She even managed to throw shade to journalists critical of the government.
“I will go through due process of the law. I will not be like other people who, when being investigated, will complain that [their right of practicing] press freedom [has been trampled upon]. I believe that there is justice in our country. Thank you,” she said.
