Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s political party, PDP-Laban, has released its list of possible senate bets for next year’s midterm elections and included in the list is musician Freddie Aguilar.
Senate President Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III, who is also being considered by the party, released the list yesterday.
Aguilar is a well-known Filipino singer-composer, but even those outside the Philippines may be familiar with at least one of his hits.
His song Anak or Child, first released in 1977, became an international hit and was translated into 26 languages.
It was also the theme song for a 2000 film of the same name about an overseas Filipino worker (OFW) living in Hong Kong. The film eventually went on to become the Philippines’ foreign language film submission to the 73rd Academy Awards.
The song was such a hit that you can still hear it being played in Hong Kong establishments or sung by the city’s buskers.
It’s also popular in Japan, where different versions of the song held four Top 10 spots in the hit chart at the same time.
Musical achievements aside, Aguilar isn’t exactly experienced when it comes to public service, which is why many criticized PDP-Laban for even considering him.
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Hey, remember when Freddie Aguilar suggested that we move the Rizal statue as a solution to the Torre de Manila kerfuffle?
— Phil Dy (@philbertdy) April 19, 2018
Aguilar campaigned for Duterte in the 2016 presidential elections.
In 2016, he claimed that the government was considering him to be the new chair of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), but many protested against it. The position was eventually given to National Artist for Literature and Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino (KWF) chairperson Virgilio Almario.
Apart from his lack of experience, many also pointed out that Aguilar, who is now 65 years old, married a 16-year-old in 2013.
How did he end up marrying an underaged girl? He converted to Islam six months before the wedding.
The Philippines requires that a person be at least 18 years old before getting married but Sharia law only requires that the girl has undergone puberty.
It was problematic then and it’s still problematic now.
READ: Ka Freddie converts to Islam to marry teenage sweetheart
Aguilar was also in the news earlier this year when his house in Quezon City was destroyed by a fire.
Other personalities considered for the PDP-Laban slate are Bataan Rep. Geraldine Roman, the first openly transgender woman elected to the Philippine Congress; Special Assistant to the President and “Selfie King” Christopher “Bong” Go; Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque; and Presidential Communications Assistant Secretary Margaux “Mocha” Uson, infamous for sharing fake news on social media.
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