In my previous post wherein I urged Efren not to endorse any candidate, a couple of readers left comments that I found quite amusing. Apparently some people feel it would be a big loss for the CNN Hero if he didn’t endorse a candidate. Here’s an excerpt from one of the comments (bold highlight is mine).

Efren then is in a bind now. Kawawa naman. Pati pag-endorse ng kandidato, inuupakan na.

Kawawa naman?!? How so?

Anyway, I hope other celebrities would follow Efren’s lead and refrain from endorsing ANY candidate. I emphasized the word “any” because the same reader who posted the comment above also had this to say to me.

I bet if he endorsed your preferred candidates, hindi kayo magre-react ng ganito.

I hope he or she gets it now that what I wrote  wasn’t an appeal against endorsing a specific candidate but an appeal against endorsing ANY candidate.

Now some people may argue that this is a free country and it is well within the celebrities’ rights to endorse or publicly campaign for the candidates. I agree 100%. I’m not questioning their right to do as they please. As I clearly stated before I am just making an appeal. If they heed my appeal then that would be great. If they don’t then that’s okay too. However, if they do proceed with endorsing someone my hope is that they’ll choose wisely.

Celebrity endorsers should remember the quote “With great power comes great responsibility.” Indeed, since they can influence a lot of people celebrities should at least make sure that their endorsement will not lead others to choose the wrong person. Maawa naman sana sila sa bayan.

Of course, I still prefer that they not endorse anyone at all. The way I see it celebrity endorsements are not at all helpful in raising the bar for Filipino voters. They just distract people from the crucial task of seriously evaluating the candidates.

Another reader left me this comment.

I hope in our democracy, we allow any one including celebrities to endorse and campaign for their candidates…

I really can’t say I share his hope. If it were up to me I’d even ban the practice. Seriously.

I’m guessing you’re familiar with the 3 Gs of traditional politics. These are Guns, Goons and Gold. I’d like to expand that list by including Glitter, which is essentially the only thing celebrity endorsements add to the whole electoral process.

You want change? Change the system. Reject traditional politics and everything that perpetuates it.