BY Neil Ramos
An officer under the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) wants Presidential Communications Mocha Uson to take leave in the wake of the controversy that erupted following her video about federalism going viral.
Harold E. Clavite, director-general of the Philippine Information Agency (PIA), also asked the former singer-actress to publicly apologize for the video deeming it a “blunder.”
“On the heels of PCOO Assistant Secretary Mocha Uson’s latest blunder on the administration’s campaign to push for federalism, a public apology from the PCOO official is paramount. Along this line is a call for her to take a leave of absence to reflect on these matters,” he said.
Clavite described the video an “insult to our profession in communication and public information,” inasmuch as it is “degrading to the women and mothers in our communities.”
“I have served alongside PCOO and all its attached agencies under the good leadership of Secretary Martin Andanar, and as far as I’m concerned, Ms. Uson’s actions since her appointment have time and again proven to be in poor taste – a display of an utter lack of judgment and have maligned our profession as government communicators.
“I speak out on this issue to give value to the massive man-hours my office, the Philippine Information Agency, had spent on providing capability and capacity building trainings, seminars, and workshops to all our stakeholders in public information on the ground; to give value to the hard work of PCOO’s attached agencies,” he added.
Clavite went on, “As a public servant and being part of the PCOO family, I take great offense in Ms. Uson’s actions, which continuously damages the rectitude of my communication and public information agenda. I can no longer let her obscure and vilify my honest work in helping the President, this government, and this country, as well as the efforts that we have painstakingly and patiently put into place under my leadership in PIA for the past two years,” he said.
He ended his post saying “It is about time that someone speaks up and hold erring officials accountable for repeatedly tarnishing the reputation of our government.”
