DOT official criticized after interrupting 'very important meeting' to help friend use Google Translate
Tourism Undersecretary Mae Elaine Bathan is under fire for apparently disrupting a "very important meeting" about national concerns in favor of helping out her friend who was having issues using Google Translate during her Japan trip.
The issue started when Bathan's friend, Regal Oliva, who also serves as the Mandaue City Treasurer lawyer, published a now-deleted Facebook post detailing the "true story" of the incident.
"So I am in Japan. Marco and I took the streets to find a perfect restaurant to eat. We cannot find a menu in English, and if there was one, it was international cuisine. I want to eat Japanese," Oliva began.
"So I called Usec and bestie Elaine Bathan today. She was in the middle of a very important meeting that concerns a sensitive national issue," she continued.
Oliva then attached a transcript of their conversation, where she asked Bathan if she was in a meeting before saying "this is more important."
After calling for a recess, Bathan got back to her friend and asked what the problem was.
"Ma, you have to teach me how to use Google Translate. The one that you taught me in Taipei. March and I will be dead today if I get famished," Oliva said.
Bathan then replied, "Maaaa, you don't know what meeting I had to stop for this, but okay."
The Tourism official also posted about the incident on her own Facebook account, where she included a screenshot of her instructions to Oliva on how to use the app.
"When your best friend calls you because she needed help on Google Translate so she can eat and thrive in Japan, all else will have to stop. Even if it's about the airport takeover and privatization," she captioned her now-deleted post.
Both posts provoked the wrath of many social media users, who called the act an "abuse of power" and a mismatch in priorities.
"I am disgusted [by] this shameless display of arrogance and abuse of power. So their friendship is more important than duty to country and people? And they want the whole world to know about it?" one user criticized.
Another one wrote, "Atty. Elaine Tantengco Bathan and Atty. Regal Oliva, can you please explain to us why feeding a friend in Japan is more important than matters of national concern?"
Bathan and Oliva have since published statements addressing the issue on their respective Facebook accounts.
According to Bathan, she acknowledged how her post caused different reactions online including negative ones that she regrets.
"My social media activity never intends to disrespect the office I represent, my colleagues in government, or the purpose of my work. I acknowledge that as a public servant, I should be more mindful of how and what I share, especially in public to not cause any confusion," she wrote.
Despite her act, she assured the public that she "would never brush aside [her] duties and responsibilities as a public servant" as these will always be her priority.
"I ask for the kind understanding and sincerely apologize to the Secretary, my colleagues and the public. Moving forward, I will practice more discernment in my use of any social media platform to ensure that this will not happen again," Bathan ended.
Meanwhile, Oliva explained that her previous post "had been taken out of context" as she exaggerated parts of her conversation with Bathan.
"I have been receiving several [advice] to just take it down as people who do not know the friendship I share with Usec. Elaine Bathan is always exaggerated. Because that is how we are," she wrote.
She admitted that the post was a "lapse of judgment" that tarnished the integrity Bathan, who she regarded as "one of the most hardworking, dedicated, and upstanding leaders and persons" she knows.
"Apologies to those whose sensibilities I may have caused to erupt. Maybe my true-to-life experience of having the most difficult time in Japan led me to desperately seek help, but sorry, for Elaine will always come on top of mind when it comes to 'call a friend,'" she added.