Jennylyn Mercado calmly replied to bashers who belittled her as an actress who openly shared her opinion.
On her Facebook account, the actress posted a screenshot of a netizen who said she’d better not share her opinion because she’s just an actress, “Wala namang pinililing panahon, lugar, at tao ang magsalita at magbigay ng opinyon. Ano pong meron sakin at wala akong karapatan na gawin yun?”
She also mentioned that being a celebrity doesn’t mean she doesn’t have the freedom to express her own opinion, “Hindi po porket artista ay wala na kaming kalayaan upang iexpress ang sarili at gamitin ang aming plataporma para magbigay at mamahagi ng impormasyon.”
As long as her opinion is backed up by credible information Jennylyn believes that she can share it, “Ang limitasyon lamang duon ay siguraduhing credible ang ating pinapamahaging balita at may laman o sense ang ating mga pinopost.”
Ending her lengthy post, the actress clarified that she doesn’t stop anyone to express her own opinion but hoped people won’t have such kind of mindset especially in this time of pandemic, “I don’t hinder or stop you from sharing your opinion, so don’t tell me to stop from giving mine.
“Pasensya na po. Pero nakakalungkot na ang baba ng tingin ninyo sa mga artista at mga tao na hindi parehas ang paniniwala sa inyo. Tao po kami. Nagiisip, nakakardam, at nagmamahal katulad ninyo. Ang dami ng negatibo na nangyayari sa mundo, huwag po sana tayo dumagdag dito.”
This wasn’t the first time that Jennylyn had voiced her opinion freely. In spite of being a Kapuso artist, Jennylyn defended ABS-CBN against bashers who rejoiced in the network’s shutdown.
“With all the negativity that is happening in social media, let us all remember to respect each other. All our opinions are valid. Just because you disagree with the opinion of others, doesn’t give you the right to belittle or make fun of anyone. Our enemy is not each other, but the virus.”
Jennylyn Mercado has worked with a number of Kapamilya actors, including John Lloyd Cruz in The 3 of Us in 2016, Jericho Rosales in Walang Forever in 2015, and Sam Milby in The Prenup.