MANILA – Despite another blunder, Presidential Communications Operations Office assistant secretary Margaux “Mocha” Uson still has the trust of President Rodrigo Duterte.
Uson has not been fired despite her refusal to follow the President’s order to apologize to actress Kris Aquino, Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque said Thursday.
“She hasn’t been fired. For as long as she hasn’t been fired, she enjoys the trust and confidence [of the President] because all presidential appointees serve at the pleasure of the President,” Roque said.
Roque refused to comment on the issue further and deferred the matter to Special Assistant to the President Christopher “Bong” Go.
“Bong Go might have information on the issue that I was not privy to,” he said.
Uson, in a video on Facebook, compared a video of Duterte kissing a married Filipina woman in South Korea to that of an old clip showing two women kissing Kris Aquino’s father, the late Sen. Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr.
The presidential communications aide was apparently defending Duterte’s act while on an official visit in Seoul from critics who expressed disgust, insinuating that Ninoy Aquino was spared from such criticism.
Kris Aquino slammed Uson on her social media pages, saying the latter “crossed the line” by making her relive the pain her father’s assassination caused her and besmirching their family’s name.
Duterte, through Go, apologized to Kris Aquino for Uson’s “malicious” post.
“We convey our apologies for the incident concerning her (Aquino) and Mocha (Uson),” Go said in a hastily called news conference Wednesday. “We understand the emotion of both sides.”
The President also ordered Uson to apologize to Aquino and the communications aide agreed, said Go.
But Uson’s ensuing posts on Facebook on Wednesday were nothing close to an apology.
“This is not about Kris Aquino,” she said in a 23-second video. “Tungkol ito sa paglagay ng malisya sa isang halik. Itinumbas lang sa gawain ng ibang lider tulad ng tatay niya. Ms. Aquino, this is not about you.”
She further posted, “With all due respect to everyone involved, I decline to apologize for the truth.”/PN
