Alden Richards drew attention on social media after sharing a post contrasting the treatment received by former House Speaker Martin Romualdez and an elderly man from Cebu City following their respective arrests.
The Kapuso actor reposted on his Instagram Story an art card from political meme page OMG, KKLK!, featuring a photo of Romualdez lying on a hospital bed alongside an image of 68-year-old Ireneo Vidal behind bars.
“Bilyun-bilyong pera ang ninakaw. Nagka-anxiety, pinayagang manatili sa ospital,” read the text accompanying Romualdez’s photo.
Below it was Vidal’s image with the caption: “Lolo, namalimos para may maipakain sa apo, binugbog, ikinulong.”
Alden did not add a caption or personally elaborate on the issue, but his decision to share the post quickly caught the attention of fans and other social media users.
Some netizens praised the actor for using his platform to amplify the comparison, particularly because the post directly identified Romualdez rather than making a general statement about corruption or inequality.
Romualdez, the incumbent representative of Leyte’s 1st congressional district, was arrested while confined at Cardinal Santos Medical Center in San Juan City after the Sandiganbayan issued a warrant against him in connection with a P7.4-billion plunder case involving alleged flood-control anomalies.
According to Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla, Romualdez had been hospitalized after experiencing a cardiovascular event, unstable blood pressure, and an anxiety attack.
Authorities served the arrest warrant in his hospital room, where booking procedures were also conducted. He remained confined at the private hospital pending further orders from the anti-graft court.
Vidal, meanwhile, was arrested in Cebu City in May for allegedly violating the city’s anti-mendicancy ordinance.
The senior citizen maintained that he was not begging but playing his harmonica in public to earn money to buy food for his grandchild.
Vidal also accused personnel involved in his apprehension of physically hurting him, an allegation they denied. He was eventually released after spending several days in detention.
The contrasting circumstances surrounding the two cases formed the central message of the art card shared by Alden, raising questions among netizens about disparities in how people are treated while in government custody.
While Alden did not issue his own statement about Romualdez or the broader corruption controversy, his repost stood out to followers because the actor has generally been measured about expressing views on political issues publicly.
Alden recently hosted the GMA Public Affairs documentary ‘Rebuilding Broken Rooms’, which examined challenges confronting the Philippine education system. He currently stars in the Viu series ‘Love, Siargao’ and is also set to headline the upcoming GMA Network medical drama ‘Code Grey’.