BLOGGER and sexy starlet Margaux “Mocha” Uson will be handling Malacañang’s social media affairs after President Rodrigo Duterte named her as assistant secretary at the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) on Tuesday.
With her new appointment, Uson relinquishes her position as a member of the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board.
Uson, who has a bitter relationship with the press, had earlier tagged journalists as “presstitutes” and called members of the Malacañang Press Corps, who share a space inside the New Executive Building as “paid hacks.”
Communications Secretary Martin Andanar had earlier cited Uson’s influence as a blogger and experience as an artist, when he was asked about her qualifications to be a part of the MTRCB.
Uson, an avid supporter of the President, is an advocate of using blogs rather than traditional media to inform Filipinos.
The Palace, meanwhile, defended the appointment of former military chief Roy Cimatu as secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, saying that President Duterte finds him “extraordinarily gifted” in balancing the concerns of the agency.
“During the Cabinet meeting, he did make this comment… he felt that General Roy Cimatu is extraordinarily gifted for the task of balancing environmental concerns with mining operation concerns,” Presidential Spokesman Ernesto Abella said.
On Monday, Duterte appointed Cimatu to replace Regina Lopez, whose nomination was rejected by the Commission on Appointments for her arbitrary closure of mining operations during her brief stint as Environment chief.
In one of his first interviews as Environment secretary, Cimatu said that he is willing to allow “responsible mining.”
Abella said Cimatu can still promote social justice as demanded by environmentalists and critics, despite being a former chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
In the same briefing, Abella said that Duterte backpedaled on his earlier comment that “lobby money” worked against Lopez in the CA.
“We need to correct that. The President did say last night that when he said ‘lobby’, it’s not necessarily money. He corrected himself. He clarified himself,” Abella said.
“When he said ‘lobby’, people automatically assume that there was an exchange of money. He said basically, lobby is a legal thing that you can actually exercise in order to persuade one’s particular position.”
In a speech last week, Duterte said Lopez’s appointment as Environment secretary was rejected by the CA because “lobby money talks.”
Duterte’s statement did not sit well with some members of the CA, who called it a “sweeping attack” against the constitutional body.
Also on Tuesday, Duterte named former House speaker Jose de Venecia as special envoy for inter-cultural dialogue.
In a text message to reporters, DFA Spokesperson Robespierre Bolivar said that the new role is “in recognition of his active role in promoting inter-cultural and inter-faith dialogue for many years.”
De Venecia will perform his functions only from April to September 2017, Bolivar added.
As special envoy, De Venecia is expected to advise the government on issues concerning inter-cultural dialogue and recommend ways to advance Philippine interests in this matter.
De Venecia, a former Pangasinan solon, was House speaker from 1992 to 1998 and from 2001 to 2008. He ran for president in 1998 but lost to then Vice President Joseph Estrada.