MANILA, Philippines — Crying foul over a report against her, PCOO Assistant Secretary Mocha Uson asked journalists to be fair in reporting during a Senate hearing on Wednesday.
In response to the blogger turned PCOO official, Sen. Bam Aquino hit back at Uson for demanding fairness when she herself does not air the sides of the opposition in her blog posts.
"In your case, never ka humingi ng side ng lahat ng mga nilagay mong blog dito. In fact, just the other day may blog ka sa minority. May isang beses ka bang humingi ng side namin?" Aquino asked Uson.
On October 2, Uson shared a Facebook post uploaded by RJ "Thinking Pinoy" Nieto linking Aquino to former PCOO staff and now owner of Pro Pinoy Project Cocoy Dayao.
In defense of her Facebook post, Uson clarified that she is a blogger and not a journalist.
Uson, however, refused to answer whether she ever tried to get the side of the opposition before posting against them.
"I refuse to answer the question," Uson said. "I have the right to refuse that question."
READ: Mocha Uson: I'm also a victim of fake news
Aquino then explained to Uson that she does not have the right to refuse to answer the question but she, however, has the right against self-incrimination.
"I have the right... ano po? I have the right to ano... against self-incrimination," Uson told the Senate panel.
Uson added that she refuses to answer the question as it is already far from the issue which is the alleged fake news of GMA News Online against her.
Justifying his question, Aquino stressed that the main purpose of the Senate inquiry was to discuss the proliferation of fake news in general.
Urging Uson to answer Aquino's question, Poe told the PCOO official that answering it would not be incriminating.
"Hindi naman incriminating 'yan kahit sagutin mo kasi it doesn’t imply a crime. Others can probably say that it’s incompetence or negligence or opinionated blogging but you can answer it," Poe told Uson.
Apologizing for her previous response, Uson reiterated that she is entitled to her own opinion as she is a blogger and not a journalist.
"Kung gusto po niyang hingin ang side ng isang tao, opinion-based po ang blogging unlike po sa mainstream media meron po silang obligasyon po bago nila i-report po 'yung fake news na ginawa po nila," Uson said.
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