Pinoy celebs come under fire during papal visit
Millions of Filipino Catholics had their faith in humanity restored following Pope Francis’ phenomenal 5-day visit to the Philippines that concluded Monday, January 19.
But some aren’t too happy with the way local celebrities behaved while the church leader was here.
Here’s what you missed while you’re busy watching the Pope’s every move in his Philippine visit.
A looming ‘Thrilla in Manila 2’ between Marlene Aguilar and Mystica
Marlene Aguilar, mother of road rage suspect Jason Ivler, challenged Pope Francis to a sparring match at a local gym. The book author called the pontiff “kampon ng dilim” and claimed he’s involved in Satanic rituals. Singer-turned-filmmaker Mystica, on the other hand, accepted the challenge on the Pope’s behalf. The two have yet to schedule the sparring match.
Precious Lara Quigaman appeals for respect after drawing flak
The Miss International 2005 title-holder, a Born Again Christian, earned netizens’ ire after she posted two Bible quotes on Instagram last Saturday, January 17, Day 3 of Pope Francis’ visit to the Philippines.
Two verses—Acts 4:12 and John 14:6—stressing that people can only be saved through Jesus Christ didn’t sit well with netizens. Some got the impression that the supposedly “harmless” verses were badly timed and indirectly hit the visiting pope.
Precious, meanwhile, posted an image of RESPECT on the photo-sharing app, and quickly denied she’s pointing to the pope.
"I respect Pope Francis. I am grateful to him for bringing hope to our kababayans and making a lot of us smile. I think he is doing a great job. The Bible Verses I posted are very powerful. And I believe in them. The reason I posted them is for my own personal reminder not to look anywhere else but to focus on Jesus,” she said.
Kris Aquino’s special audience with the pope
The Queen of All Media drew flack online following Derek Ramsay’s admission that the presidential sister invited him to Malacanang to meet Pope Francis. Kris’ hunky friend related she had five invites to be given out to friends who wanted to see the pope during his courtesy call to the Palace.
Netizens found Kris’ gesture a display of power, while millions had to wait for hours just to have a glimpse of the pope.
"They all stand in line just to see the pope and then here we have Kris given the privilege to invite five people,” a Yahoo user commented. Another one said, "What kind of privilege does Kris have to invite people to meet the pope? She is neither a government official nor a church official.”
Incidentally, in a speech before Philippines' who's who, Pope Francis demanded that leaders end "scandalous social inequalities” amidst rising corruption charges and the widening rich-poor gap in the country.
