On March 22, The CompanY member OJ Mariano shared his thoughts on celebrities voicing their political stands in the coming 2022 elections.
During the media conference for their album launch for Gitna, Mariano said that personalities are taking a stand because they are Filipino citizens.
“It’s not necessarily a stand that we take as celebrities or personalities. It’s a stand that we take as individuals, as Filipinos.”
He added that celebrities use their popularity as voice magnifiers to share their beliefs with their followers.
“It just so happens that we are in this industry, and most people know about us, know us as The CompanY. But us, individually, I think paniniwalaan namin. And I [think] siguro we are just riding this popularity that we have to use it as a voice magnifier for our beliefs, ‘yung aming paniniwala.”
He also explained that they aren’t forcing their political stands on others but sharing their beliefs through their platforms.
“Siguro nakaka-affect din whatever we believe in kasi ‘yun nga like what Sweet said, it’s really–there’s no better option. There’s no option actually, no other option.
“It’s just what we believe is right. ‘Yun nga ‘yung paniniwala namin, sa puso namin, ‘yun ‘yung tama. Kung pakikinggan kami ng mga tao na kung ano ‘yung paniniwala namin, we are happy. But otherwise, we will try our best to convince them, but kung hindi, ‘yun.”
“It’s not something about fame or being in celebrity status. It’s our beliefs as Filipinos, as individuals, as God-fearing people. So ‘yun po hindi po kami takot sa cancel culture.”
Earlier, The CompanY, including Annie Quintos, OJ Mariano, Moy Ortiz, and Sweet Plantado, performed at the Bicol leg of VP Leni Robredo’s campaign rally to show support for their presidential bet.
They released their newest 10-track album Gitna, housing a collection of multi-genre songs that offers different themes of love with their impeccable vocal harmony.
Gitna is available on all digital streaming platforms, while the carrier single’s music video streams on March 25 at 8 PM on Star Music’s YouTube channel.
