Mocha Uson now has editors to handle her blog, PCO boss Andanar says

Assistant Secretary Mocha Uson now has editors that will manage her social media posts amid accusations that she spreads inaccurate information through her popular blog, her boss at the Presidential Communications Operations Office said on Wednesday.

Secretary Martin Andanar replied in the affirmative when asked if Uson already had editors for her Facebook blog, which has over five million followers.

"Mocha is an assistant secretary of the PCOO. Hindi mo na mahihiwalay ang personalidad ni Mocha as a private citizen and high ranking official. It's one and the same," Andanar said.

Andanar did not give a specific answer on how the public could exact accountability from Uson's posts, opting instead to remind everyone of the responsibility "not to spread wrong information."

"It's also our responsibility as citizens of this country to only share the information na talagang makakatulong sa lipunan," Andanar said.

Asked if Uson would be willing to take down her blog account, Andanar said: "I don't think so."

"We should strike a balance because there's freedom of expression," he said. 

Uson in late May shared a photo of Honduras policemen with a caption asking for prayers for the Filipino army, amid the military operations against the ISIS-inspired Maute group in Marawi City.

She later defended the shared photo and said it was just a symbolism, and that she did not say that the men in the photos were part of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

Andanar afterwards asked Uson to be more prudent with her public posts and urged her to get page managers for her blog.

He also expressed his support for deliberations on Senate Bill 1492 or the proposed Anti-Fake News Act which seeks to penalize any person or entity who maliciously offers, publishes, distributes, circulates, and spreads false news or information in print, broadcast or online media.

With this, the Palace official said there must be clear definitions on fake and legitimate news.

“We should define again what news is, lahat ba ng sasabihin ng isang ordinaryong tao, for example, na may 50k followers, news na ba ‘yun? Or kailangang maging member ba ng isang organization para ang isang istorya maging news,” Andanar said. —NB/JST, GMA News