Award-winning actress Nadine Lustre quickly squashed speculations that she was paid to endorse a party-list.
The “Uninvited” star surprised Filipinos with her appearance in videos uploaded by the Mamamayang Liberal (ML) party-list on Thursday, February 20, on its social media accounts.
Nadine also introduced some key people in the organization, which included former senator Leila de Lima who is vying as its first nominee.
The party-list is a sectoral wing of the once-ruling Liberal Party (LP).
“Through this platform of a party-list, I can pursue further the main advocacy of social justice for all of these sectors, side-by-side with promoting and pursuing the core values of the LP: Freedom, democracy, justice, social justice, anti-corruption, transparency, accountability and good participatory governance,” De Lima said in October.
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Prior to Nadine’s videos, the party-list teased about the actress’ endorsement by using one of her songs, “Paligoy-Ligoy,” which appeared in her 2014 romantic-comedy film “Diary ng Panget.”
In the comments section of one of the clips, Nadine addressed allegations of endorsing the party-list for payment.
“Hindi kailangan ng bayad kung para sa ikabubuti ng bayan. Ang tunay na paglilingkod, hindi binibili,” she wrote.
Her comment has earned over 3,900 likes and several replies from other Instagram users, including one from the party-list.
“Salamat, Madame President! Ang tunay na nagmamahal para sa bayan, naglilingkod kahit na walang bayad,” it responded to the actress, using an identifier the local internet community has given her before.
The “President Nadine” meme originated on the X (formerly Twitter) platform.
Some electoral candidates are known to enlist showbiz personalities in their campaigns to enhance their chances of winning the elections.
Last month, actor Joshua Garcia earned attention after a party-list group used him as its face.
The law states that party-lists “enable Filipino citizens belonging to marginalized and under-represented sectors, organizations and parties, and who lack well-defined political constituencies but who could contribute to the formulation and enactment of appropriate legislation that will benefit the nation as a whole” to be represented in the Congress.
At least 155 party-list groups are vying for at least one of the 63 seats in the House of Representatives for party-list representatives in the midterm elections this May.
