MANILA – Their apology will not give them a pass.
Presidential Communications Assistant Secretary Margaux “Mocha” Uson and blogger Drew Olivar have been charged at the Office of the Ombudsman for making fun of sign language in a video.
Members and allies of the persons with disabilities community lodged four complaints against Uson and Olivar even though the two already apologized.
Uson faces charges for violation of the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials, the Civil Code of the Philippines, the Cybercrime Prevention Act, the Magna Carta for Persons with Disability, and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
The video showing Olivar “inventing his hand movements” was “vulgar” and showed a “very dangerous public example for hearing people,” Philippine Federation of the Deaf president Carolyn Dagani said in a complaint.
“Mocha Uson and Drew Olivar were laughing and making fun of us. Together, they stepped all over us and crushed us, killing our dignity,” Dagani said. “Maybe resign, taken out of the position, whatever.”
She added: “Deaf people do not make fun of hearing people when they speak and use spoken languages and yet Mocha Uson and Drew Olivar have mocked us. This is discrimination.”
The same group lodged a complaint against Uson and Olivar before the Commission on Human on Rights. The commission said they were already looking into the complaint.
In the video uploaded on social media, Olivar can be seen mimicking sign language and making sounds in an apparent imitation of the hearing-impaired. Uson can be heard laughing in the background.
Earlier Uson and Olivar drew flak for a video featuring the jingle “pepe-dede-ralismo” that supposedly aimed at raising awareness on federalism and the proposed shift to a new system of government.
This was the third complaint lodged against Uson at the Ombudsman.
Akbayan Youth and Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV also filed charges against entertainer turned blogger and staunch Duterte supporter for spreading misinformation and performing inside a casino despite working for the administration./PN
