Trillanes files raps vs Mocha Uson
SENATOR Antonio Trillanes IV filed Friday before the Office of the Ombudsman administrative and criminal charges against Communications Assistant Secretary Margaux “Mocha” Uson for spreading “fake news” regarding his supposed foreign bank accounts.
Trillanes lodged six criminal complaints against Uson for alleged violations of the Cybercrime Prevention Act for libel, the AntiGraft and Corrupt Practices Act; Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees; and Revised Penal Code for falsification and use of false documents.
An administrative complaint for grave misconduct was also filed against the Communications Assistant Secretary.
The filing of cases stemmed from Uson’s publication of alleged documents showing Trillanes’ offshore bank accounts on her Facebook page Mocha Uson Blog, which has garnered millions of interactions.
“The era of fake news is over. Everyone who will spread fake news will be held accountable under the law. That should serve as a lesson for everyone who is spreading fake news,” Trillanes said in an interview after the filing of complaints.
Malacañang welcomed the decision of Trillanes to file administrative and criminal cases against Uson.
Abella said Trillanes has the right to lodge charges against Uson, who accused the senator of owning several offshore bank accounts.
“He (Trillanes) is free to do so,” the presidential spokesman told reporters.
Abella, however, defended Uson, saying the government is not propagating “fake” information to the public.
He said the current administration was upholding “a platform of integrity of communication.”
“It’s clear that we don’t do stuff like that (fake news,” Abella said.
“There’s no such thing. We’re all on the same platform. We stand on a platform of integrity of communication, and so, perhaps, if you say so we sanction, we perhaps don’t do that,” he added. SunStar Philippines