MANILA -- The spokesperson of the Consultative Committee (ConCom) which drafted the proposed federal constitution will be determining the role played by Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Assistant Secretary Mocha Uson in the government’s federalism information drive on Friday.
ConCom spokesperson Ding Generoso confirmed this Thursday, after earlier suggesting that Uson could write about federalism on her blog or newspaper column in the Philippine Star.
“I will be meeting her and other officials to discuss the com(munication) plan),” Ding Generoso told the Philippine News Agency in a text message.
Generoso said he was willing to give Uson a comprehensive orientation on federalism for her to better understand the government system that will distribute powers and funds to the regions and spur economic growth.
“That could be part of discussion. If she is going to write about it or interview people about it, she has to know what federalism is and what the ConCom draft Constitution proposes,” Generoso said.
Generoso stressed that like everybody else who will have a role in the information drive, Uson will have to be given proper orientation.
However, he said that the orientation will have to be scheduled on another date and not on Friday’s meeting for lack of time.
He also pointed out the Uson, as Assistant Secretary of the PCOO, was simply doing her “regular duty” by helping the ConCom in whatever role she will play to disseminate information about federalism to the public.
“Asec Mocha is part of the PCOO — the Communications arm of government — and whatever role she plays in the Federalism Info Drive is simply in the performance of her regular duties as a PCOO official,” Generoso said.
The PCOO is among the agencies of the government tasked to undertake a massive information campaign on federalism to increase public awareness and approval.
Uson herself confirmed the meeting in a video posted in her blog.
“Magkakaroon palang po kami ng brain storming sa Friday kasama ang ConCom at PCOO at doon ko palang malalaman kung ano po ang aking magiging role dito po sa campaign for federalism (We will have a brainstorming on Friday with the ConCom and PCOO and that’s when I’ll find out what role I’ll be having in this campaign for federalism),” Uson said.
Fake news
Uson, meanwhile, tagged as fake news reports that she was tapped to “lecture” the public on federalism and that she will be receiving PHP90 million to do the job.
“Unang una po sa lahat, fake news po ang inilabas ng isang pahayagan na ako raw po ang magiging lecturer pagdating sa pederalismo (First of all, the report released by a newspaper saying that I will be a lecturer on federalism is fake news),” Uson said in the same video.
“Pangalawa, fake news po itong sinasabing tatanggap raw ako ng PHP90 million para po sa pagtulong sa kampanya tungkol dito sa pederalismo (Second, it’s also fake news that I will be receiving PHP90 million to help the federalism campaign),” she added.
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque earlier said the government has identified an initial budget of PHP90 million for the government’s federalism information drive.
Of this amount, PHP50 million will come from the ConCom’s savings and additional PHP30 million will also be set aside for the expert panel.
Meanwhile, PHP10 million will go to the PCOO which will be tasked to produce information drive materials.
Uson described herself as a mere “public servant” and that it was her duty to help in information dissemination on federalism.
She, meanwhile, thanked Senator Nancy Binay for considering her as resource person for the upcoming hearings on federalism.
At present, the ConCom continues to hold regional presentations, consultations and press conferences on federalism and will soon launch its own website and social media pages.
The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the PCOO will lead the federalism information drive since the ConCom’s term is expected to expire on August 19.
An inter-government task force led by Roque and Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea will also help explain federalism to the barangay-level. (With report from Jelly Musico/PNA)
