Filipino stars losing jobs to Koreans? Maritoni Fernandez speaks up

MANILA, Philippines — In light of Sen. Jinggoy Estrada’s viral plan to ban Korean and other foreign shows in the country to give more opportunities to local stars, veteran actress Maritoni Fernandez gave light on the issue on whether Filipino actors like her are indeed losing job opportunities to their South Korean counterparts.

For instance, in the case of food supplements brand IAM Worldwide, where Maritoni is a director, “Squid Game” star Jung Ho Yeon was feted in Manila last week with a fan meet.

“I don’t think that was the intention,” Maritoni said of Jinggoy’s plan, which he later on clarified.

“I heard what was said and I think it was more in jest. I think his more personal take siguro kasi artista din s’ya. I think he was trying to say that dahil sa nawawalang income for the local industry. If possible, ‘yun ‘yung gagawin n’ya. But I don’t think that he literally meant that he’s going to do it. I think it kind of snowballed into something na not really meant.”

Although Maritoni saw where Jinggoy came from with his statement, she does not agree with him that banning Korean dramas (K-dramas) and other foreign content would be better for Filipino actors in the long run. 

“I think, it should be, free-for-all dapat – Koreans, Japanese, whatever you want. Me, I watch a lot of Chinese because I speak Mandarin and it’s one way for me to keep Mandarin in my brain,” the actress, who has been an actress for 35 years and counting, told Philstar.com in an exclusive interview following Jung Ho Yeon’s Manila press conference in Marco Polo Hotel Ortigas.

Related: ‘Squid Game’ star Jung Ho Yeon shares impression of the Philippines, places to visit

Watching content from any language or culture is always educational, so it should not be banned, Maritoni pointed out.

From their company’s experience in hiring both a Korean and Filipino endorsers, Maritoni said getting from both nationalities have their own different merits, so other brands, hopefully, would follow suit and still hire Filipino endorsers and not just jump on the “hallyu” bandwagon.

“Of course, ibang level ‘pag sinabi mong international. Tapos one of the best actresses pa in ‘Squid Game,’ so s’yempre iba ‘yung dating. But they’re both very, very good (Korean and Filipino endorsers). If I have to choose, I wouldn’t choose one over the other. I’m proud of all our endorsers,” Maritoni attested.

According to her, they enlisted Ho Yeon, number one, because of her lifestyle, and second, admittedly because Koreans are now setting the beauty standards, even among Filipinos.

“She’s a good influence to people her age and also I believe, she’s the epitome of what we consider as beautiful nowadays, ‘di ba? So we really went out of our way to really shoot somebody who’s not only beautiful on the outside but also from within.”

Related: From squid to chicken: Jung Ho Yeon shares life after ‘Squid Game’ at Manila visit

Although not a big fan of K-dramas, Maritoni watched “Squid Game” and found it and Ho Yeon’s performance “very good.”

“Very believable! For somebody so young, she has a lot of depth in acting. When somebody asked her a question, how does she prepare (for a role), she actually has a process, which is very important as an actor. You can’t really be in a role without preparing for it. Any actor would tell you that it takes quite a lot of work.”

Their company’s roster of Filipino actors, including John Lloyd Cruz, Liza Soberano, Heart Evangelista, and Piolo Pascual, are also doing as well as Ho Yeon, not only in promoting their brands, but also in their performance as actors, Maritoni said.

“The benefit of having local endorsers is they speak our language. They’re able to communicate with our clientele.”

Since both Filipino and Korean personalities matter, Maritoni hopes Filipino brands would not forget to patronize their own.

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