Senators hit Mocha Uson over ‘ipederalismo’ video

Senators scored Monday Communications Assistant Secretary Mocha Uson for posting a video supposedly aimed at raising awareness on federalism.

Senator Panfilo Lacson said Charter change and federalism, which he earlier described as awaiting cremation at the Senate, should be thrown as far away as possible with the participation of Uson in it.

“Without Mocha Uson, federalism is already dead and awaiting cremation at the Senate. With Mocha Uson, the ashes should be thrown far, far away from the Philippines’ 7,107 beautiful islands,” Lacson said in a text message.

Senator Francis Escudero said the video was a desperate attempt to attract attention by intentionally offending the public’s sense of propriety.

“It is downright vulgar and has no place in the public discourse on such an important issue as THEIR proposed shift to federalism & Charter change!” he said.

Senator Joel Villanueva, on the other hand, said the video is an insult to the intelligence of the public, adding it was the worst way to discuss and make the public understand federalism.

“This is not the kind of public information materials we expect from a government agency and a government official. She is way out of her league to discuss federalism,” he said.

For his part, Senator Joseph Victor Ejercito said the video was done in bad taste.

“(I) hope it doesn’t happen again,” he said.

Lewd

Senate Minority Leader Francis Pangilinan said what Uson and blogger Drew Olivar did was lewd and not public service.

“Kababuyan at kalaswaan ang tawag sa ginagawa nila at hindi public service. Ang pambabastos at pambababoy ng isang assistant secretary ay di dapat pinalalampas ng administrasyon,” Pangilinan said.

He added Presidential Communications Operations Office head Martin Andanar should have an explanation on such development.

“Dapat magpaliwanag si Secretary Andanar sa mga kalaswaan at kababuyan na nangyayari sa kanyang tanggapan na ginagawa ng mga tauhan niya gamit ang pondo oras at kagamitan ng gobyerno,” he said.

Senator Nancy Binay said that it should be clear with everyone that federalism is not an amusement piece nor a comedy material.

“Sa totoo lang, even the most educated university professor finds federalism as a complicated subject. Nakalulungkot that the seriousness of the discourse has been downgraded to the lowest of forms,” she said in a statement.

“I can’t emphasize enough how important the messenger relays the message. With what we all saw in the video, I think we can all agree that the message and the messenger matter,” she added.

Binay said Malacañang can ask those who have no official business in speaking on behalf of the Consultative Committee to disengage from all activities relating to the information campaign about federalism.

She further said the fund for federalism campaign should be allocated to other programs.

“Ilagay na lang natin muna ang P90 million na pondo sa gamot para sa mga bata. Let it be better spent on medicines and assistance to flood and fire victims—at least we know healthcare is worth every centavo,” she said.

Senator Risa Hontiveros, meanwhile, said she believes that the video was an insult to the office being represented by Uson and to the women in general.

“Isang malaking insulto sa opisinang nirerepresenta ni Asec Uson, isang malaking kabastusan sa mga kababaihan at isang malaking kasayangan sa pera ng bayan,” she said in a text message to GMA News Online.

“Ano ang kinalaman ng maseselang bahagi ng katawan ng babae sa usapin ng pederalismo? Inatasan at hiningan ng tulong si Ms. Uson para ipaliwanag sa publiko ang issue ng pederalismo, hindi para bastusin ang mga kababaihan at i-sexualize ang aming mga katawan,” she added.

Hontiveros asked if Uson belittles the people for giving them a lowly gimmick just to make them talk about the issue.

“Ganoon na lang ba kababa at kaliit ang tingin ni Ms. Uson sa pag-iisip ng masang Pilipino at kailangang idaan sa ganyang klaseng mga gimik ang pag-uusap ng mga importanteng pambansang usapin?” she said.

She added that Uson is the best promoter of President Rodrigo Duterte's “fake federalism, infamous for its vulgarity and cheap antics to railroad it through an undemocratic and Senate-less charter change, postponement of the 2019 elections and term extension.”

“With her as promoter, the Duterte government's sham federalism now has zero credibility,” said Hontiveros.

Senator Cynthia Villar said the PCOO should improve on promoting federalism.

Villar said she based her comment on the reaction of the netizens as she admitted that she has yet to see the video.

“Hindi ko kasi nakikita pa, hindi pa ako nanonood pero ang feedback hindi maganda so ayusin nila ‘yun. Ayusin nila ang federalism campaign nila, hindi na nga popular ang federalism e magkakaproblema pa na ganito,” she told reporters.

“This is federalism, this is serious matter, this is revision of the Constitution. Ayusin natin how we promote it in a more decent manner kasi mahirap naman kapag hindi mo prinomote seriously e parang hindi tayo serious sa amendment sa Constitution,” she added.

Senator Aquilino Pimentel III earlier expressed disappointment over Uson for the video.

Senate President Vicente Sotto also disagreed with the video, saying the use of theatrics will not work for a very serious matter such as federalism.

In a text message to GMA News Online, Sotto said the video “must be a joke” as he has been studying the proposal of both the Consultative Commission and the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan for 16 hours already and he is just nearing to understand it.

“I’ve been going through the federalism proposal of both the Consultative Commission and the PDP Laban formula for a total now of about hours altogether and what I can say is, ‘Malapit ko nang maintindihan.’ How can a few minutes of entertaining video explain it,”  he said.

He added it would be better for PCOO to “restrict their speakers on federalism to those who can explain it academically.”

Uson posted a video "Good News Game Show" showing her co-host Drew Olivar dancing while chanting, "I-pepe, i-pepe, i-dede, i-dede... ipederalismo!" and gesturing to his crotch and chest. 

Uson said the moment was taken out of context and that the self-funded video was part of her goal to further discuss federalism as part of her promise to President Rodrigo Duterte.  — RSJ, GMA News