Actor-turned-politician Arron Villaflor attributed his social media team after a post of him praying for solidarity with Cebu’s earthquake victims drew flak last week.
On October 1, the provincial board member of Tarlac’s Second District posted a publication material (pubmat) showing him in a prayer gesture with his hands folded over his chest.
It was accompanied by a message that reads: “Pray for Cebu and those affected by the earthquake.”
While well-intentioned, his post did not sit well with some Filipinos who thought he could do more concrete things as an active politician instead of just “praying.”
The post caught the attention of the pop culture-oriented page “FTTM” or “Follow the Trend Movement,” which raised awareness about the pubmat.
“Tarlac board member Arron Villaflor prays for Cebu,” it said.
The post has earned 170,000 likes and reactions, 10,000 shares, and over 3,800 comments.
“Bro thinks he’s Santino,” a Facebook user wrote before, referencing the main character of the ABS-CBN drama series “May Bukas Pa,” Santino, who was raised by priests.
“Prayer leader yarn??” another user commented.
“My homie thinks he’s Pedro Calungsod,” said a different user, referencing the young Filipino saint who was killed in missionary work while in Guam in 1672.
“Trapo in the making,” another one commented.
“Oh, there’s an earthquake in Cebu! Now, how do I make this about me?” wrote a different user.
Arron responds to the flak
Arron was approached for his comment about his post, which has since been deleted after earning flak.
He attributed the “lapse” to his social media team.
“Gusto kong humingi ng pasensya, I just want to apologize. It was a lapse from my social media team, and I told them na, wala, nandito na tayo. Let’s just learn from our mistakes,” the politician said to reporters.
“Natutuwa nga ako eh, dahil kumalat siya nang maigi. Ganoon pa pala ako ka-relevant sa mundong ito,” he added.
“For me kasi, I was a public servant of Tarlac, no. Ito lang naman ‘yan eh… the intention was there, but the photo didn’t land well or fit with that prayer or post, no,” Arron said.
“So, sa lahat po ng mga kababayan natin dito sa Pilipinas, ako’y humihingi ng tawad mula sa aking social media team at hindi natin masisisi ‘yung mga tao ngayon na, everyone has the right to say their opinions, no,” he continued.
He also said everyone is entitled to say their own opinions, especially when it comes to public service.
“Everyone has the right to say their arguments, or bad things they want to say, regarding in our government, no. But in my case, thank you for giving me this chance to apologize,” Arron said.
On October 8, the politician expressed gratitude to those who helped them in their “Cebu Earthquake Relief Mission,” where they distributed goods to those affected by the powerful magnitude 6.9 tremor.
“Hindi ako perpekto, pero araw-araw sinusubukan kong maging mas mabuting tao. Cebu, daghang salamat sa pagkakataong maglingkod at magmahal muli,” he said in another post.
The earthquake
On September 30, a powerful earthquake struck Cebu and killed at least 74 people. It also left 559 injured.
The tremor also left 62,531 houses damaged, with close to 5,000 of them assessed to be beyond repair.
Reports said that up to 189,620 families were displaced by the calamity, with most of them staying in six evacuation centers.
The government has spent more than P152.6 million on food and non-food assistance for affected communities, particularly in Bogo City, the epicenter of the earthquake, and its neighboring municipalities.
