Mocha Uson is a person who should be understood instead of villified

My good old friend, Leslie Bocobo, a passionate guy online, is trying to pit Rappler's Maria Ressa against Mocha Uson. This is understandable.

For one, Uson's blog has surpassed Rappler's online stats by the millions and with talks about efforts at bringing Mocha's blog down, expect this blog to gain more than rock star status in less than a month. And Mocha did it in less than a year, while Rappler gained theirs after four years of grueling work, and millions of pesos spent.

The thing about Rappler is that it claims to be a true repository of news and insights, when, for many occasions, it became a promoter of the interests of Big Business, the kind being promoted by the Iberians oligarchs and a whip master of the richest Indonesian family in the world. Rappler had their share of brickbats from readers in the past, for spreading news that serve someone's interests. For not being transparent, Rappler is courting public disapproval. Ressa has been asked several times before who funds them, and she always refused to reveal who really. This is a disconcerting thing, something which our readers should seriously consider while they read every single thing at Rappler.

For all the claims made by Ressa, that she's a journalist par excellence, she can never replicate what Mocha Uson did---bring out the voice of the masa to the fore of discussions about this country. Mocha represents the thoughts and views of ordinary Filipinos who are victimized by this system every single day. I noticed that the discussions and the way Mocha presents her views and her news updates shadow those being talked about by our fellow Filipinos in alleys, offices, department stores and even in most barbershops throughout the country. It follows a certain logical pattern of thought that is simple. What is most admiring about this is that people are showing signs of extraordinary interest in everything political and this is good. Mocha has surely engaged the masa in a way that no other person or organisation had for the past twenty years of online engagement.

Bocobo's cousin, the eminent Dean, disagrees with me when I took a stand against the petition to bring Mocha Uson's Facebook blog down. Dean has excellent points though. Arpee Lazaro too. They believe she's spreading disinformation and outright lies. For that, Facebook needs to bring her Facebook page down.

My disagreement stems from my staunch belief that the minute you do that to Mocha, she becomes another victim of a vicious and inhumane society. I don't want to be a part of a self-moralizing mob who thinks that they have the monopoly of what is Right and what is Wrong. We are entitled to our own version of Reality and if Mocha writes about her reality, that's her right, who am I to judge her?

The only thing I asked of Mocha is this---you once aimed to be a nurse, a profession which requires its servants to be extremely precise in what they do. This requires one having an inquisitive mind, and some skills in research. One advice---better to research the data that you spread online first. If your material is not supported by any study or is an outright fantasy, exercise your better judgement as a patriot, and stop yourself from spreading such lies.

Mocha Uson means well. Mocha wants to change the world, but I hope for the better, and one thing that she should start doing is be responsible for what she shares with her audience. Research first if the thing is true or not or just some figment of someone's brilliant yet demonic mind.

If Mocha loves her fellow Filipinos, she should encourage them to seek knowledge and not be another tool, another instrument of destructive politics. Likewise, Mocha should not worship Duterte, her idol, like he is god. Remember that Duterte himself admonished his DDS cheering squad to stop doing that. By exhibiting such blind and false worship, DDS supporters are just proving to the world that Duterte is Adolf Hitler incarnate, something which the enemies of this administration wants.

Wittingly or unwittingly, the DDS cheering squad being led by Mocha Uson is the one tainting the very image and reputation of Mayor Duterte. By acting like they are a rowdy bunch of blind philistines, DDS is giving the world the impression and the scare that this country is developing a potential Hitler which, seriously, is not a worthy epithet at all. We all know how the whole world hates Hitler and what he symbolize. Acting like the SS, threatening people with death when they comment negatively against Duterte, is seriously not the best way of showing the world that our president is doing an excellent thing.  The fact is--it is even fuelling the very negative impression before the world about us, Filipinos, and about our acquiesce to despicable things already repudiated by the entire world. This is making us the laughing stock of the world.

Mocha Uson is a victim of this violent world. When she was young, she witnessed the assassination of her father, a judge based in Pangasinan. Whatever outrageous and outlandish things she did with her life afterwards, Mocha is the only one who can say whether those things were correct or erroneous. Probably, at that time, those things were. And we simply are not worthy enough to say or accuse her of being a slut or a sinner because we are sinners as well. At some point in our lives, we also did outlandish and outrageous things, right?

If we join a growing number of citizens who believe that Mocha Uson is the demon incarnate, the temptress ultima, the diva of the DDS world, then, we are surely just mimicking the very same acts of the same monster we are fighting against.

Seeing her Inquirer interview made me a believer of what she is doing. Mocha represents your typical Duterte supporter who believes that the guy means business, that he has the heart for the country and he is ready to do just everything to realize what's in his mind.

Duterte became endeared with the people when during the elections, he made the people felt his patriotism. However, subsequent events are unfolding and serious doubts are forming in some people's minds about the sincerity of Duterte in pursuing these dramatic changes. It is however, too early to say that he is dishonest.