MARGAUX “Mocha” Uson, deputy administrator of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, on Monday told the NBI she committed an “honest mistake” when she posted wrong information on her Facebook account about the purchase personal protective equipment (PPE) for healthcare workers.
Uson was subpoenaed by the NBI based on complaint from after netizens pointed out the some of the PPE units shown in the pictures she posted were not bought by government — as she claimed — but were donated by a mall chain.
She said she did not intend to post “fake news” or photos, and she only wanted to show the public that the government is doing something for the medical frontliners amid the fight against the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
In her post, Uson credited the purchase of the 15,000 PPE units to the Department of Health. After netizens pointed out the error, Uson edited her post and apologized for the “misleading content on the meme” she attributed to an article published by Philstar.com titled “First Batch of 1 million PPEs delivered.”
“Nagamit ko yung photo ng Philippine Star, na isang respetadong newspaper, isang broadsheet, yun pala mali din sila ng nagamit na larawan. It was an honest mistake on my part yung sa photo (I used the photo of the Philippine Star which is a respected newspaper, a broadsheet. Unfortunately, they were also wrong. It was an honest mistake on my part regarding the photo),” she added.
Earlier, NBI Deputy Director Ferdinand Lavin said Uson was summoned to explain her side based on the directive of Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra to investigate all those who violate rules of the enhanced community quarantine, including those who post or spread fake news and information.
Section 6 (f) of the Bayanihan Law punishes “individuals or groups creating, perpetuating or spreading false information regarding the COVID-19 crisis on social media and other platforms, such information having no valid or beneficial effect to the population and are clearly geared to promote fear, anarchy, chaos and confusion, and those participating in cyber incidents that take advantage of the current crisis situation to prey on the public through scams, phishing, fraudulent emails or other similar acts.”
NBI Cybercrime Division Head Vic Lorenzo said the NBI told Uson to submit affidavit and include as annexes the copies of pictures and the sequence of events when she posted those and when she issued an apology, which she submitted on Monday. He added Uson’s lawyer would know what to do.
