A 35-year old Filipino actress-philanthropist became an angel in disguise helping her fellowmen get through these trying times. The real-life Darna does not need the ‘bato’ to transform into some incredible fictitious being, all she needs is her motivation to help mankind, and voila! Angelica ‘Angel’ Locsin Colmenares: became the ‘superhero’ the mass admires.
At present, the country is facing a crisis that is steadily progressing that the celebrity actress cannot just sit back while watching Filipinos suffer from this pandemic. Locsin and her friends are doing everything they can to help those in need. In a span of nineteen days, the Filipina actress Angel Locsin, together with her team, was able to aid 135 hospitals throughout the country, set up 246 tents, and raised funds for a total of Php 11,359,856.89 through her campaign #UniTENTweStandPH. The primary goal of her campaign is to avoid further casualties caused by overcrowded healthcare facilities and to fight off COVID-19 threats that lasted from March 25, 2020, to April 13, 2020.
After signing off from her recent campaign, she has now set a new goal to continue helping her fellowmen by joining hands with her other Kapamilya actresses, Bea Alonzo and Anne Curtis to launch the ‘Shop & Share’ initiative that first took part during the Typhoon Ondoy relief operation back in 2009. Their fellow celebrities are going to donate their personal belongings for auction wherein the proceeds will be used for the purchase of the said test kits.
Last December 2019, the real-life Darna was hailed as one of Forbes’ Asia’s 2019 Heroes of Philanthropy: Catalysts for Change. Forbes then described her contributions for the past decade in which she donated about Php 15 million “to causes such as educational scholarships for students, supporting the economic and political rights of indigenous people, and ending violence against women and children” a proof of her great dedication to help the people.
For the past years, Angel Locsin is always on the go when unfortunate events happen. Locsin’s presence during the 2017 Marawi siege was evident as she joined the Rural Missionaries of the Philippines handing out supplies to the victims. She gave out scholarships to 31 students through a fundraising activity, donated a million for relief operations when a 6.5 magnitude hit Mindanao in October last year, skipped the 2019 ABS-CBN Ball to donate her supposed expenses for the event to Bantay Bata 163, the child welfare arm of the ABS-CBN Lingkod Kapamilya Foundation. Locsin was also spotted giving out relief goods for the victims during the Taal volcanic eruption last January. All these actions made people see Angle Locsin as the real-life Darna, a Filipino comic superhero who stands up for those who cannot fend for themselves.
Despite her efforts, there are still those who do not know how to appreciate good deeds. Bashers and trolls are claiming that Locsin has been putting on an act when doing good deeds for the community. Nonetheless, there is the fact that cannot be denied, that Locsin’s “show off” helped countless Filipinos when others cannot. The negativities would not stop her from extending her hand for those in need. “It’s like taking little steps towards substantive, holistic change for the future of the next generations,” Locsin said. “The only motivation we need is being part of humanity.”
