Offensive antics

Philippine Daily Inquirer / 05:09 AM September 25, 2018

If Presidential Assistant Communications Secretary Mocha Uson and her perennial

hanger – on, Drew Olivar, thought they could get away with their latest antic — making
fun of the sign language of deaf people in a recent video posted on Uson’s Facebook
page — the way they had gotten away with their other offensive online actions in the
past, they thought wrong.

Then again, for far too long, Uson’s many bald lies, ethical lapses and sheer
cluelessness about her job had merited no more than a peep from Palace officials, who
appeared to fear the perceived clout of her 5-million-plus following on social media.

People had begun to wonder if she were untouchable. After all, with at least P130,000 a
month of taxpayer money going into her salary, the public had every right to expect
some sort of accountability for her official behavior — something tougher and more
stern than, say, the generic memo that she was issued over her earlier infamous video of
Olivar performing suggestive dance moves while mouthing “pepe-dede-ralismo,” a clip
Uson admitted to filming in her office.

Far more costly than that video, which effectively torpedoed the administration’s
federalism campaign, was Uson’s swaggering video, shot in Kuwait, announcing the
intended rescue by Philippine government personnel of some distressed overseas
Filipino workers in that country.

The video, and the actual incidents that followed, led to a full-blown diplomatic crisis
between Kuwait and the Philippines, the Filipino ambassador himself getting expelled
and declared persona non grata by the Kuwaiti government.

The Kuwaiti stunt did not appear to do Uson much damage. No apology was ever
forced out of her for that dangerous caper, and none for the “pepe-dede-ralismo”
imbecility, either.
While sundry officials called for Uson’s removal from government or at least her
inhibition from dabbling in matters of policy or governance in the wake of that PR
disaster, Malacañang itself made no move to sanction her.

President Duterte, in fact, was characterized by the Palace as having remained “cool”
after seeing the clip. During a recent speech before the Filipino community in Israel, the
President said that while there were “excesses” in Uson’s actions, they were part of her
freedom of speech.

Who could make Uson apologize for her bad behavior?

The Filipino deaf community, it turns out.

The immediate outcry of those citizens, and the public at large — concretized in a suit
filed by the Philippine Federation of the Deaf (PFD) at the Office of the Ombudsman
against Uson and Olivar — forced the pair to offer separate apologies for their latest
hijinks.

The complaint charges them with violating Republic Act No. 9442, “which penalizes
verbal, nonverbal ridicule and vilification against persons with disability.”

“Uson and Olivar were laughing and making fun of us,” protested PFD president
Carolyn Dagani.

For Marya Angcay, a leader of the deaf community, the video clip “reminded us of the
times when we were bullied and could not fight back,” while Raymond Manding,
president of the PFD’s youth section, worried about the reach of social media and how
Uson, a high-profile public official, was setting a bad example.

“What if children started copying her?” he asked.

The De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB), which houses a School of Deaf

Education and Applied Studies and the Benilde Deaf School, also released a statement
urging the government to “take action” against Uson and Olivar for being “very
offensive and disrespectful” to the Filipino deaf community.
(Olivar is in hot water again for posting a fake “bomb threat” on Sept. 21 to dissuade
people from joining antimartial law rallies.)

Uson’s actions, said DLS-CSB president Br. Dennis Magbanua, were “unbecoming of a
government official,” and violative of the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for
Public Officials and Employees.

Previous appeals to hold Uson to those standards, to which other less favored
government officials are strictly subjected, had been met with shrugged shoulders in the
Palace.

On Thursday, notably, it offered no defense of Uson but announced that it would let the
Ombudsman decide on the PFD complaint.

It should be said: Penalizing Uson and Olivar for the wanton dumb and dumber routine
they have foisted on the nation, at taxpayers’ expense, will help ensure that their
overextended 15 minutes of notoriety no longer makes a mockery of governmental
affairs.

Read more: https://opinion.inquirer.net/116317/offensive-antics#ixzz5SNsrrTnx

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