Veteran entertainment writer Lolit Solis called out Kapuso star Jennylyn Mercado after the actress criticized Sen. Cynthia Villar for dismissing health workers’ plea to re-implement ECQ in Metro Manila once again.
Villar earlier told the medical workers to just do their job as she does not agree on putting Metro Manila again under ECQ due to its effects on the economy and businesses.
“Hindi na siguro. Pagbutihin nila trabaho nila,” Villar said.
“Hindi pwede isara ang ekonomiya kasi kung hindi mamamatay sa (COVID-19), mamatay sa gutom ang mga tao,” she added.
However, the senator later clarified that it is government officials and not medical frontliners that she was referring to in her earlier statement about “working harder”.
Many netizens didn’t believe Villar’s explanation since transcripts of the interview showed she was really referring to health workers. Several celebrities have reacted to the senator’s statement, like Jennylyn Mercado.
She took to social media to express her sentiments about Sen. Villar’s lack of sympathy for Filipino healthcare workers.
The actress posted on her Twitter that the Villar doesn’t understand what the medical frontliners are going through. She asked the senator to be better because the people deserve better.
Sen, with all due respect po, you don’t get to comment about the work na ginagawa ng ating medical frontliners until you are able to experience what it’s like to be in their shoes.
Sen…Be better because our Heroes Deserve better.
— jennylyn mercado (@MercadoJen) August 1, 2020
“Sen, with all due respect po, you don’t get to comment about the work na ginagawa ng ating medical frontliners until you are able to experience what it’s like to be in their shoes. Sen…Be better because our Heroes Deserve better,” Jennylyn said.
While the Kapuso star’s post gained admiration from some of the netizens, others also expressed their disapproval from the post.
Lolit Solis defended Sen. Villar through her Instagram post and even called out Jennylyn saying that the actress has no idea with the issue that she is fighting about.
In the post, Solis stressed that the senator has already clarified the comment she made but many people have already come up with their own stories which sparked the online backlash.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CDaH2tln-jK/?utm_source=ig_embed
“Hindi ko alam kung out of context o talaga lang pag ang nagsalita si Sen. Cynthia Villar binibigyan agad ng maling meaning ang kanyang sinasabi, Salve. Ipinaliwanag na niya na ang ibig niyang sabihin na magtrabaho ng mabuti ang mga tao sa gobyerno lalo na sa DOH para hindi mahirapan ang mga tao,” Solis said.
“Hindi niya tinukoy ang mga frontliners, at hindi kailanman iisipin ni Sen. Cynthia Villar na hindi sapat ang pagod na ibinibigay ng mga ito sa paglaban sa covid 19,” she added.
Solis claimed that the senator has the utmost respect for the medical workers especially since her son, Sec. Mark Villar, became positive from COVID-19. She said that the senator will surely not disregard the effort of the medical workers as she is aware of their sacrifices especially in this tough time of the pandemic.
Solis also called the celebrities to comprehend the issue first before expressing their opinion and not just do it just to stay relevant.
“Sana naman, lalo iyon mga artista na nakikisali sa issue at nagpipilit maging relevant, intindihin mabuti ang context ng mga binitiwan salita bago magbigay ng komentaryo. Tutoo, dapat naririnig ang boses natin ngayon, pero dapat din maingat tayo dahil apektado nito ang pananaw ng tao,” said Solis.
“Be more vigilant with issues, pero tignan at pakinggan muna natin mabuti ang sinabi bago gumawa ng comment,” she added.
She specifically called out Mercado. “Paging Jennylyn Mercado, more than anyone ikaw sana ang una dapat naka intindi. Huwag masyado mahilig sa issue, piliin mo naman.”
Solis ended her post with the hashtags “#classiclolita, #takeitperminutemeganun, and #73naako.”
The journalist wanted to point out that Jennylyn shouldn’t just keep on commenting about society’s issues without actually studying the issues carefully.
It can be recalled that Jennylyn was also vocal with her support for the ABS-CBN franchise when the House committee voted to deny the network a fresh franchise.
She stands with ABS-CBN because according to her, being neutral or silent in times of injustice is injustice. She said that being bashed is a small price to pay for practicing her right to freedom of speech.
Netizens believe that Jennylyn’s answer to the call-out was through the series Tweets that she posted just hours after Solis called her out.
The moment you hinder someone from speaking their mind to is the moment you failed to respect the rights of your Fellow Filipino…
— jennylyn mercado (@MercadoJen) August 3, 2020
May qualification ba dapat bago ka magkaron ng karapatan na magkomento sa mga isyung panlipunan?
Hindi ba sapat na mamayan ka ng Pilipinas at nagbabayad ka ng buwis?
Bakit kung kelan Pandemya na lahat tayo ay apektado saka ang iba ay pilit na pinatatahimik?— jennylyn mercado (@MercadoJen) August 3, 2020
Naguguluhan na ako.
Bakit parang nakalimutan ng ibang tao irespeto ang iba kahit iba ang opinyon nila?
Hindi ba yun ang isa sa mga unang tinuturo ng ating mga magulang?— jennylyn mercado (@MercadoJen) August 3, 2020
“The moment you hinder someone from speaking their mind to is the moment you failed to respect the rights of your Fellow Filipino,” Jennylyn wrote.
The actress talked about how people should be given freedom of speech to share their opinion on things. She said that there shouldn’t be any qualifications to follow to be able to express one’s self.
She noted how other people tend to forget to respect the opinion of others even if it doesn’t agree with their own beliefs.
Jennylyn Mercado was the winner of the first season of the reality talent competition StarStruck. She starred in multiple commercially successful films, including English Only, Please (2014), The Prenup (2015), Walang Forever (2015), and Just the 3 of Us (2016).
Mercado hosted GMA’s comedy-singing show i. She was later chosen to play the role of Steffi for the Philippine remake of the South Korean series My Love from the Star.
She recently starred in GMA Network’s drama action series Descendants of the Sun which was based on a 2016 South Korean television drama series of the same title with her co-star Dingdong Dantes.
