After keeping mum for over a week, Kathryn Bernardo finally spoke up about the forced shutdown of ABS-CBN.
As to why it took her a while to say something, Kathryn admitted that she was afraid after going through a traumatic experience the last time she expressed a political opinion.
“Alam ko po marami sa inyo ang may alam na matagal ko po piniling manahimik, Bakit? Kasi, kagaya po ng iba sa inyo, natakot po ako. Kasi nung huling beses po na ginamit ko po yung platform ko sa usaping politika, hindi naging maganda yung nangyari. Naging traumatic po yung experience ko noon,” Kathryn said.
Kathryn shared how bashers also targeted her family then.
“Kagaya po ng mga nararanasan ng ibang mga artista na nagsasalita,,ang dami pong pag-atake ang daming sinabi hindi lang sa akin pero pati pamilya ko. Kaya sinabi ko po nun sa sarili ko na yun na yung huling beses na magsasalita ako sa ganoong usapin kasi ayoko nang maulit yon.”
But now, she chose to speak up because she felt she needed to for others who couldn’t.
“Pero ngayon, nandito po ako kasi pakiramdam ko, kailangan, pakiramdam ko kahit wala mang kasiguraduhan na maririnig to. At least may ginawa ako. Pakiramdam ko kailangan kong maging boses ng iba. Kaya andito po ako, pinipili kong magsalita kasi nagpatong-patong na yung mga dahilan,” said Kathryn.
She shared that celebrities like her have a responsibility to help others as she cannot unsee the fact that others are suffering, crying, and don’t know what to do now that they are jobless.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_2GwS56088
“Iniisip niyo na maginhawa yung buhay namin kaysa sa iba. Opo, pero hindi po dun nagtatapos yun eh. Mas may responsibilidad po kame na tumulong sa iba. Hindi po ibig sabihin nun hindi kame apektado sa nangyayari kasi hindi naming kayang makita yung ang mga tao na nahihirapan, na umiiyak, na hindi alam kung ano na ang mangyayari sa kanila. Kaya andito po kame kasi responsibilidad po naming makaramdam para maging boses ng mga taong hindi mapakinggan. Kasi kung hindi kami magsasalita, sino magsasalita para sa kanila?”
She then shared a line from her movie: “Ang choice para lang sa may pera.” and shared how when she lived together with OFWs from Hong Kong for a month, she witnessed how difficult their lives were.
She also talked about the recent ABS-CBN forced shutdown, and how in the time of the pandemic some people in isolated places who depend on the Kapamilya network for information can no longer do so.
Second, Kathryn said that in the time of ECQ, people have also lost their source of entertainment which helped keep their minds off their problems.
And lastly, Kathryn said, it is an issue about press freedom as they have lost the manner to express themselves.
She has also an appeal to all Filipinos: “We should learn to stand up for what is right. Hope we could use our voice to convey what needs to be heard with care and responsibility.”
Kathryn has a message to the youth of today: “Don’t be afraid. You might be just like me who was afraid but if I will not talk today, who will? We will one day inherit the Philippines that is why we have all the right.”
https://www.instagram.com/tv/CAH22ignaSq/?igshid=lb554f2j3bbi
Kathryn Bernardo is one of the many celebrities that has reached out to Filipinos in dire need of help in this time of the pandemic.
The actress doesn’t want to talk about the relief efforts she does because oftentimes people misunderstand the efforts of celebrities to help.
“Hindi lang siguro ako comfortable na, minsan kasi iba ‘yung dating kapag artista eh tapos tumulong para lang iwas… basta makatulong. ‘Yon lang naman ‘yung point.”
On May 5, ABS-CBN went off the air as the NTC issued a cease and desist order against the network. The House of Representatives Committee of the Whole on Wednesday approved a bill that gives ABS-CBN a provisional franchise until October 2020.
The measure was filed by House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano, as he cited the need for Congress to focus on addressing the coronavirus crisis and giving it sufficient time to tackle the network’s “controversial” application for a fresh 25-year franchise.
House Bill No. 6732 grants ABS-CBN provisional franchise to operate until October 31, 2020, before Congress deliberates on long-pending bills giving the media giant license to broadcast for another 25 years.
The interim license will “give both the House of Representatives and the Senate [time] to hear the issues being raised for and against the renewal, and assess, with complete impartiality and fairness, whether or not the network shall be granted a franchise for another 25 years.”
