Senatorial candidate Samira Gutoc on Monday clarified that her statement thanking Mocha Uson during their campaign rally in Cavite was not tantamount to an endorsement, saying it was only her way of acknowledging the presence of one of President Rodrigo Duterte's most vocal supporters in their event.
The senatorial candidate was asked on ANC how she would reconcile her recent actions to her previous stance against fake news, for which Uson was accused of peddling.
In June 2020, Gutoc called out Uson for falsely branding UP students and other groups who oppose the Anti-Terrorism Law as terrorists.
During their campaign rally in Cavite with presidential candidate Isko Moreno, Gutoc said: "Nilalagay sa tama, kaya itindig ang mga kabataan, proteksyunan ang mga ina. Salamat Mocha sa iyong pagtindig sa mga kababaihan."
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Gutoc said it was a spur of the moment that she thanked Uson onstage. The former PCOO assistant secretary is running to represent her eponymous Mothers for Change party-list, and is now openly supporting Moreno.
"She said yung kanyang adbokasiya, she pointed to the women. In that context I was talking about my advocacy, I acknowledged. In the middle of that, I wasn't able to acknowledge her and I said behind her, 'Ay thank you po.' Out of the spur of the moment, 'Ah, thank you Mocha sa pagsabi mo on women and children,'" Gutoc told ANC.
"It's not like an endorsement, na wow you are model. Mutually, she was saying, 'Samira, ganyan ka pala.' So in that stage, in that moment, smiling at each other. And then parang blown out of proportion," She added.
Gutoc acknowledged the criticism she has been receiving on social media due to her actions towards Uson, but she said it was merely acknowledging her presence. The senatorial candidate said she initially wasn't aware of Uson's attendance at the rally.
"When you are graced by a visitor, you also welcome with graceness. I could've left the stage, I could've felt insulted, but we are in that moment and I respect that this is the decision of the organizers which I got to know later pa," she said.
Despite the criticism, Gutoc maintained that her positions on various issues, especially those involving women, remain the same.
"As a candidate, my core of being a feminist has been consistent. I've been questioning the enablers. Yes, Mocha, is an enabler of President Duterte which I continue to be a questioner in the future as a senator and today," she said.
Gutoc also trended on social media recently as netizens reacted to a video of her expressing her frustrations towards the youth, whom she said left her over her political choices despite having given her "heart and soul" to them.