One of the sisters of President Rodrigo Duterte, Jocelyn Duterte Villarica, spoke up on Facebook to criticize Filipino singer Regine Velasquez after calling out the president for his comments about God and the Catholic faith.
Velasquez posted on her Twitter account on July 7 a series of tweets asking President Duterte to spare God and other religious comments from his speeches.
“Nalulungkot na talaga ako. Hindi ako mahilig makialam sa mga ganito pero Mr. President kuha na po namin na hindi kayo naniniwala kay God,” Velasquez wrote through a series of tweets.
“Pero marami po sa amin ang naniniwala sa kanya. Hindi naman po namumulitika si God kaya wag na po natin siya idamay,” she added.
The Asia’s Songbird received a mixed bag of reactions from netizens. One of the most recent ones to hit back at Velasquez is one of the sisters of President Duterte herself, who said that celebrities losing stardom use her brother to stay relevant.
“Lahat ng mga “laos” na artista ginagamit si PRRD para sumikat! Alam naman natin na ang droga matindi sa showbiz. Huwag ng makialam sa politika, uso naman sa inyo paglaos na ang career, mag-ambisyon na sa politika!” Villarica said through a Facebook post.
The presidential sister also called out those celebrities who take advantage of their popularity when they try to enter politics. She said that celebrities should no longer deal with political matters especially if they know nothing about it.
“Halos lahat ng artista pumasok sa politika, wala talagang alam at dinadaan lang sa kanilang celebrity status, at popularidad. Gusto na ng taong-bayan magbago, maawa kayo sa bayan. Kung wala naman talaga kayong magawa na mabuti dahil hindi naman kayo qualified, hindi ko nilalalahat!” she added.
Though she did not directly mention Velasquez’s name on her Facebook post, many believe that the message was meant for the singer since Villarica ended her post by saying, “Take note, Ms. R. V. fyi”.
