Alden Richards stepped away from his boy-next-door persona to play a soldier who fought in the Marawi siege in a TV show. While he allegedly received messages that viewers will boycott the episode, fans still expressed their gratitude and praised his performance.
In the GMA show Magpakailanman, Alden played PFC Jomille Pavia, a suicide squad soldier who was stationed in Marawi. Based on the posters and screengrabs, you could see how Alden showed the pain and fear through his acting. There were a few action shots too featuring guns and explosions.
Aside from his acting prowess, many applauded Alden’s bravery in tackling this national issue. It’s also no surprise to some since Alden has been vocal about other matters in the past like autism and Martial Law.
The episode also created a conversation surrounding the soldiers’ experience in the battlefield. Fans also took the opportunity to educate the AlDub Nation on the disconnection between Islam and ISIS.
The hashtag #MPKMarawiAlden reached the top spot of the Philippine trends last night. As of writing, fans are still tweeting about Alden’s episode.
This isn’t the first time that Alden helped out and raise awareness about the situation in Marawi. He recently supported a garage sale, organized by female legislators, which raised funds for the families of Marawi soldiers. Alden also spoke about his role in a previous interview, saying, “After doing that, sobrang tumaas po lalo ‘yung respeto ko para sa mga kababayan nating sundalo. Talagang hindi madali ‘yung trabaho nila.” (After doing that, I respected the soldiers even more. Their job really isn’t easy.)
Congratulations on the successful episode, Alden! Don’t stop taking roles that start meaningful discussions.
Photo courtesy of Magpakailanman’s Facebook page
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