Communication Assistant Secretary Mocha Uson once more displayed her unfitness for her position when she put up an online poll on her Facebook account asking netizens whether they believed that the People Power Revolution was a “product of fake news.”
Over 80 percent of those who replied to the poll said “yes.”
Uson was lambasted by critics for not knowing the history of Edsa and for implying that the event was fake. Even the Palace had to step in, with spokesperson Harry Roque stating that People Power indeed happened, hence it is observed as a holiday.
After that counter by Roque, Uson tried to control the damage by disingenuously saying that she didn’t say Edsa was fake, she merely asked if it were a “product” of fake news (and she claims there’s a difference there), and that she was just asking a question and it was up to folks to chime in with their opinion.
Suffice to say that she has embarrassed herself—and this administration—again.
She either didn’t know or doesn’t believe Edsa really happened, or she was deliberately stirring up trouble.
It’s difficult to believe she doesn’t know that basic bit of history. She’s a college graduate—she can’t be that ignorant. And even if she was just a toddler in 1986 and didn’t witness People Power herself, there is a mass of documentation on it that’s trotted out annually on the anniversary. It’s impossible she hasn’t seen any of that, and improbable that she thinks it didn’t really happen.
But if she put up that poll to foment discord among people with opposing political views, then that is downright malicious. It is conduct unbecoming of a government employee, much less of an official of her rank and high salary grade.
Uson’s ongoing stint in the Philippine Communications Operations Office is marred by numerous mistakes of fact, lazy and shoddy work, and ignorance of the principles of civil service, good governance, and effective developmental communication.
She is, however, extremely proficient at using social media to communicate a particular agenda, in this case, support for President Rodrigo Duterte. However, she only communicates effectively to her own supporters, people who are already part of her fan base. She fails spectacularly at communicating to people on the opposite side of the fence.
Because of this, Uson has been called divisive and polarizing. Certainly she cannot and is not rallying all Filipinos to unity. Rather, she emphasizes differences and creates conflicts where there are none (that ill-considered poll again).
And this is where her incompetence is the most glaring, and it’s where it reflects horribly upon the present administration that handed her a high government position on a golden plate. Uson can only keep the followers who are already supporting the President. She cannot make any new supporters.
As a communicator, at the very least she should have a communication plan. She seems to act on a knee-jerk basis, without forethought for possible consequences. Uson does not have a strategic mindset. She doesn’t seem to consider what her actions might bring about, she exists and acts in the now.
Perhaps she thought the poll was a good idea at the time, and didn’t think ahead to “what will happen if I do this?” Either that, or she knew many people would be offended but she went ahead and did it anyway. That points to a negative intent and purpose that Filipinos should rightly inveigh against, because silence means consent, silence means approval. Which, again, shows that she is not qualified for her position.
Senator Grace Poe suggested during the Senate investigation into fake news that perhaps Uson might be most effective in her private capacity as a blogger. That would be better for her style of communicating, because as a public official, Uson is a model of what not to do.
Dr. Ortuoste is a writer and communication consultant. Twitter: @jennyortuoste