Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) Deputy Administrator Mocha Uson went to NBI Monday to explain that the alleged fake news she posted on Facebook is an “honest mistake.”
The NBI sent a subpoena to Uson after a complaint was filed against her post about personal protective devices purchased and provided by the Department of Health, according to NBI cybercrime division chief Vic Lorenzo.
But it turns out that the 15,000 sets of PPEs came from a private company donation, from SM Foundation.
Uson explained Monday that she intended to inform the public that the government is doing something for the frontliners.
“Kaya nga du’n sa post ko, nai-share ko ‘yung good news na mayroong ginagawang aksiyon ang gobyerno na mag-provide ng PPEs sa ating mga frontliners,” she said in an interview at the NBI.
(That’s why I posted it there, I shared the good news that the government is providing PPEs for our frontliners.)
Mocha Uson explains to NBI alleged fake news is ‘honest mistake’
“Eh nagamit ko ‘yung photo na ‘yun mula sa Philippine Star na respetadong mainstream media, broadsheet. ‘Yun pala mali din sila ng nagamit na larawan. So ‘yung impormasyon na gusto kong i-share sa publiko [ay] may ginagawa ang gobyerno para pangalagaan ‘yung frontliners natin. Nagkamali lang, honest mistake ‘yung sa photo,” the OWWA official said.
(I used a photo from Philippine Star, which is a respected mainstream media, broadsheet. It turned that they also used the wrong picture. I want to share the information with the public that the government is doing something to take care of our frontliners. That was a mistake. The photo is an honest mistake.)
The former Mocha Girls leader also explained that she issued an erratum on her Facebook page following the error.
NBI cybercrime division chief Victor Lorenzo said Uson submitted photos on the sequence of events related to the complaint.
“We will wait for their (Mocha Uson’s) affidavit. Will make a report, will have it evaluated,” Lorenzo told GMA News Online.
Uson’s Wikipedia entry describes her as “a controversial Filipina singer, dancer, model, political blogger, and appointive public official known for spreading disinformation.”