Mai Mislang (left) and her defender, Abigail Valte, deputy presidential spokesperson
Will somebody please give Mai Mislang, the “hardworking and trusted” speechwriter of President Aquino, according to her boss Secretary Ricky Carandang of the Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office, a copy of guidelines on social media?
The ones available in the internet are by the U.S. National Public Radio and the Los Angeles Times.
The guidelines have been issued in the advent of what is now called social media (Facebook and Twitter are the most popular) where the line between private and public statements has become blurred.
This part from the NPR guideline should be underlined for Mislang: “Recognize that everything you write or receive on a social media site is public. Anyone with access to the web can get access to your activity on social media sites. And regardless of how careful you are in trying to keep them separate, in your online activity, your professional life and your personal life overlap.”
This should also be relevant to Mislang: “You should conduct yourself in social media forums with an eye to how your behavior or comments might appear if we were called upon to defend them as a news organization (in her case Office of the President). In other words, don’t behave any differently online than you would in any other public setting.”
This is the part from LA Times that should also be underlined for Mislang: “ Assume that your professional life and your personal life will merge online regardless of your care in separating them.
“ Even if you use privacy tools (determining who can view your page or profile, for instance), assume that everything you write, exchange or receive on a social media site is public.”
Mislang suddenly became infamous last Thursday, when as a member of presidential delegation to Hanoi (for a state visit and the 17th Asean summit), she attended a state dinner and twitted her boss, Carandang, that “the wine sucks.”
Carandang didn’t see anything wrong with the disrespectful comments and even asked which one, white or red wine. Mislang’s reply:”Red, the white is fine.” (A DFA source said the wine was Chilean, not Vietnamese.)
Mislang’s disparage of her host didn’t end there. She also tweeted, “Sorry pero walang pogi dito.” (Sorry, there are no handsome men here.)
The tweet on the motorcycles (“Crossing the speedy motorcycle laden streets of Hanoi is one of the easiest ways to die.”) is not as offensive as the other two.
In all these tweets, she put the hashtag ”Vietnam”, which means it is grouped by twitter in tweets about Vietnam. That’s how Mislang, inadvertently perhaps, further internationalized her insults to Vietnam, that went all out to extend courtesy and kindness to the Philippine delegation despite a last minute change of dates of Aquino’s state visit.
A DFA source said the news on Mislang’s blunder was carried by a number of Vietnamese online sites. But the government has “decently kept quiet” which magnified all the more the lack of it by a member of the Philippine delegation.
Mislang has issued an apology through Carandang and a colleague in the communication office, Manolo Quezon. “I apologize for my comments. If I offended anybody, please know that was never the intention. I feel extremely blessed to be in a beautiful country blessed with warm hospitable people,” she was quoted to have said. She has removed her twitter account and I can’t find her Facebook account anymore.
Her apology smacks of hypocrisy. I’m not at all surprised that this happened because this is not the first time that Mislang made nasty remarks in twitter. During the election campaign, she twitted while watching ANC’s “Strictly Politics” that then AFP Chief of Staff Delfin Bangit, who was talking about measures the military was doing to make sure that there would be peaceful and orderly elections, was “pangit” (ugly). It was an early manifestation of immaturity and conceit, that became even more bloated in Malacañang environment.
A reporter friend said she had come across tweets by Mislang about the president calling her up to edit his speech while she was on the treadmill or buying make up.
She must be overwhelmed by the power that comes with being a part of the president’s “think thank” she forgot that as a ghost writer, she was supposed to be a “ghost” and not to be known as being responsible, even partly, for what Aquino is saying in public.
Mislang’s comments betray her ignorance about many things and snooty attitude towards other people. That is evident in her lack of appreciation of Vietnam’s courageous history and remarkable rise from the ashes of war. Vietnam is the only “small country” in Asia that can hold its head high against colonial powers. The Vietnamese defeated and drove away the French in 1954 and the Americans in 1975. Today, Vietnam is performing better than the Philippines in terms of attracting foreign investment.
Despite the boo-boo, Mislang is secure in her Malacañang position. As Carandang said, she is “trusted” by Aquino. She has been with Aquino way back during his Senate days.
Besides, if Aquino protected Rico Puno and kept him as undersecretary in the Department of Interior and Local Government and didn’t do anything to sanction former Philippine national Police Chief Jesus Versoza (don’t be surprised if he is resurrected as ambassador ) despite the embarrassment their incompetence caused the country in the August 23 tragedy , what’s Mislang’s Vietnam- bashing tweets?
As Carandang said, “It’s a minor incident.”
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