Why Marian Rivera wouldn’t run for public workplace

Marian Rivera as Trainer Emmy in “Balota,” which earned her the Cinemalaya finest actress award —PHOTOS FROM GMA PICTURES

Politics and present biz aren’t the unusual bedfellows they have been as soon as considered—at the least not within the Philippines, the place actors and different celebrities have lengthy been attempting, and proving, their luck in public workplace.

Simply take a look at among the names who made headlines within the weeklong submitting of certificates of candidacy (COCs) for the 2025 elections earlier this month.

Marian Rivera, considered one of at this time’s greatest stars, admitted that she has, on not just a few events, obtained proposals to run for a authorities place. “Marami!” she revealed in a current interview with Life-style and choose reporters.

However she by no means gave them something remotely near a second thought. Why would she? “Ano naman ang i-o-offer ko sa kanila?” the ever no-nonsense actress quipped earlier than laughing.

Rivera would a lot reasonably give attention to her charity work and elevating her children—Zia, 8, and Sixto, 5—along with her husband, actor and TV host Dingdong Dantes. Or she will be able to follow what she does finest and use her platform for politically and socially related initiatives, like her newest film “Balota,” which premiered on the 2024 Cinemalaya Movie Pageant and began its nationwide theatrical run final Oct. 16.

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Produced by GMA Footage and directed by Kip Oebanda, the satire drama thriller is about in 2007 in a rural municipality, the place locals are compelled to decide on between a former attractive actor and a land-grabbing tycoon as their subsequent mayor. The tight race results in conflicts. And violence inevitably descends in town come election day.

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Amid the chaos, Emmy (Rivera), a strict however well-loved trainer, flees to the forest, heading off goons and risking her life to guard the poll field containing the final remaining copy of the election outcomes. Nonetheless, she finally ends up paying a steep worth for upholding her ideas. In her dogged persistence to defend the democratic course of, her group finds itself caught within the crossfire.

Well timed

For Rivera, the message of the movie couldn’t be extra well timed. “I hope it conjures up viewers to replicate. Voting is one thing we have to do, not just for ourselves, but additionally for our family members. All of us need a peaceable election and winners who will genuinely lead us and who might be there for us,” Rivera stated.

Whereas the jaded and cynical could have resigned themselves to the notion that their decisions are futile within the grand scheme of issues, Rivera begged to vary. “Like what Emmy says within the film, ‘You don’t need to promote your vote.’ We’ve got to guard it. It’s vital … even if you happen to really feel like your one vote received’t matter or make a distinction. We will all make an impression,” Rivera stated.

However greater than the sanctity of voting, the movie additionally builds a case in opposition to patriarchal and patronage politics. This explains the prominence of feminine and LGBTQIA+ protagonists, which embody Babe (Sassa Gurl) and Ehrmengard (Esnyr), the riotous duo whose friendship will get examined by their contrasting political beliefs.

“We wish to create a counter-argument that energy ought to lie within the individuals and people; it must be in protesting and talking out for our welfare. We shouldn’t simply rely—or relaxation our personal futures—on cartoonishly macho figures that exist in Philippine politics,” Oebanda informed Life-style.

In a means, “Balota” is Oebanda’s response to the 2022 elections—the outcomes of which, he admitted, affected him profoundly. In any case, the filmmaker is finest recognized for “Liway,” the award-winning 2018 movie informed from his perspective of rising up in a jail camp along with his mom and martial regulation dissident Cecilia Flores- Oebanda.

The movie additionally allowed him to encapsulate and satirize the “lies, revisionism, violence and dishonest” which have lengthy plagued the nation and elections—however in a means that doesn’t additional polarize our already politically fractured society.

It may be tempting to advocate for one’s private politics in initiatives like this one. However Oebanda didn’t permit himself to fall into that lure. He knew from the get-go that, if he have been to push via with this movie, he must get out of the echo chamber many people unwittingly discover ourselves in amid the noise round us, particularly on social media.

“One of many issues I did in 2022 was analyze the social media actions, traits and habits of individuals from the other sides of the political spectrum. For hundreds of hours, I watched content material from each side, took notice of what satisfied them and engaged them,” Oebanda stated.

He additionally disengaged from his circles, and as a substitute, mingled with the everyman who would in the end turn into his check viewers—the home helpers, drivers, safety guards and different employees.

Dearth of content material

What he discovered was that there was a dearth of content material that appeals to political tribes that establish, or are perceived, as both conservative or progressive. “We’re all the time interesting to ourselves, maybe as a result of we wish to impress that group we exist already in. The discourse circulates in just one space,” he stated.

Some critics and viewers discovered the film’s presentation of its themes fairly rudimentary. However that is by design, as a result of as Oebanda realized whereas doing his legwork and after a showcase eventually month’s Hawaii Worldwide Movie Pageant, many individuals don’t even agree with the premise that democracy as an establishment is vital.

“I can’t consider that in 2024, there are nonetheless many individuals who consider that we now have an excessive amount of freedom, and that we’re higher dominated than making our personal selections,” Oebanda stated. “So how do you discuss to an individual like that? You need to lay down the essential instances and predicates.”

And what’s apparent to some stays hidden in plain sight to others. “Audiences who’ve information of political science might imagine, ‘Ah, however these are apparent.’ But when this stuff are apparent, then why do the identical issues carry on occurring? And it appears to be solely getting worse. Have a look at those that not too long ago filed COCs,” he stated. “It’s actually an try on my half to succeed in individuals who don’t agree with me politically,” he added.

The movie is propelled by Rivera’s compelling efficiency, which earned her the Cinemalaya finest actress award. Breaking free from the conventions of mainstream performing which have turn into second nature to her, Rivera was in a position to discover the breadth of her emotional vary, which wasn’t all the time doable in a few of her previous tv outings.

However the trophy was only a bonus. Echoing Oebanda’s sentiments, Rivera stated reaching a wider viewers is the extra urgent purpose. As such, they’re maintaining their fingers crossed that the movie’s business launch can spark as a lot curiosity as its preliminary competition run.

“It might be a missed alternative, we thought, if we don’t put it out in common cinemas,” Rivera stated. “If extra individuals can see this, it might function a wake-up name for them.” INQ