Daniel Padilla, 21, is one of the celebrities who are openly supporting Mar Roxas, 58, one of the five Presidential candidates of the 2016 Philippine election. Along with reporters, invited guests and more than 20 other actors and singers, he attended the "Artists for Mar" gathering at the Mesa Filipino Moderne restaurant at Tomas Morato cor. Scout Fernandez in Quezon City on May 3, Tuesday.
With Kathryn Bernardo, 20, beside him during the gathering, Padilla was one of the artists who spoke in front of the media and his fellow artists to explain why he is endorsing Roxas. He said, "Ang problema lang po is nabubulag lahat ng mga tao sa image ng isang tao. (The problem is that all people are being blinded by the image of one person.)"
"Hindi naman po dapat ganon (It is not supposed to be that way)," Padilla continued. "Ang dapat po, ang tinitignan natin ay ang puso, ang puso ho. Huwag na po natin tignan, para lang po sa, hindi naman po kailangang maging matalino para ho maintindihan po natin 'to, di ba ho? (What is supposed to happen is that we look at the heart (of the person). We don't have to look at, just for the, we don't have to be intelligent to understand this, right?)"
In addition, Padilla said, "So, puso na lang po ni Kuya Mar, naku po, iba, iba talaga, dahil... alam ko po ang mga nangyayari. (Just with the heart of Big Brother Mar, wow, different, it is really different because... I know what is going on.)"
At one point in his speech, Padilla said it saddens him to see who is being endorsed by the majority. He added that if only it was okay, he would go out there and remove all the posters of the candidate being endorsed by many people but he would not because he, like his fellow Roxas supporters, is decent.
While Padilla did not mention any name, he appears to be referring to Rodrigo "Digong" Duterte, 71, the frontrunner of the Presidential race in the Philippines. The latter has been mayor of Davao City for more than two decades making him one of the longest mayors in the country.
Padilla is the winner of the Global Slime Star at the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards 2015, which was hosted by Nick Jonas. He was also nominated for Favorite Asian Act but lost to JKT48 from Indonesia.
Watch a clip of Padilla explaining why is endorsing Roxas here: