Antoinette defends celebs who reach out

MANILA, Philippines — It sure sounds unfair that a famous person actually trying to help the less privileged is accused of making use of celebrity power for some selfish interests.

That is how Antoinette Taus sees it when a critic points out such matter to her. Besides, she has immersed herself into the act of reaching out to others to the point of sacrificing her focus to her own showbiz career.

“To me it’s wrong to ever put down a human being that’s trying to do good,” she said during a lunch chat with the press on a Sunday before she was due to go to a known depressed area and help distribute some goods to kids residing there.

Her foundation CORA (Communities Organized for Resource Allocation) recently partnered with Fox Life to deliver snacks and facilitate games with prizes for 1,000 kids of Lupang Pangako in Payatas, Quezon City.

Fox Life’s Jude Turcauto with CORA ambassadors

Fox Life, formerly called Starworld, is carrying the handle Turn On to “turn on lives” through community help. The involvement of Antonette is owed to her dedication to helping the less fortunate, even thoroughly explaining to journalists her deep, technical knowledge on food waste.

It’s where she’s coming from when expressing her thoughts on celebrities sharing blessings yet belittled as being mere show offs. She argued, “Kung ano man ang intensyon ng isang celebrity why he or she is doing it, sila na mag-usap ni God. But in reality, there’s good in someone doing something good. It creates a ripple of change no matter what.”

To stress her point further, she stated, “And I’ve never met a celebrity helping out who is not sincere. Me for one, I’m doing this because it’s my passion. I ask those who criticize people like me if they have done anything to help others.”

Antoinette went to Payatas last Oct. 8, along with 70 volunteers who assisted in preparing the snacks and joined in the “party with a purpose,” including members of the media and other celebrities like Carla Humphries, Alex Godinez, Franco Saycon and Tom Taus.

She went on to explain her psyche for helping people: “Maraming sacrifices for me to be able to do this, including time for my showbiz career. But it makes me happier. It’s working very well that I’m happy.”