Palace to defer to Ombudsman decision on Mocha Uson’s fate

(Eagle News) — The Palace on Thursday, Sept. 20, said it will defer to the Ombudsman decision on the fate of Assistant Secretary Mocha Uson for the controversial sign language video she filmed.

“Igagalang po ng Palasyo ang proseso. Kapag sinabi ng Ombudsman sibakin hindi po natin tututulan,” Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said in a press conference.

Apart from Uson, blogger Andrew Olivar is facing a complaint for alleged violation of the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials, the Civil Code of the Philippines, the Cybercrime Prevention Act, the Magna Carta for Persons with Disability and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities for  the video in which Olivar was seen pretending to do sign language while making sounds.

The complaint was filed by deaf advocates led by Liza Martinez of the Philippine Deaf Resource Center.

Olivar and Uson have since apologized, but the apology was not accepted by deaf advocates.