‘KathNiel’ adds star power to Mar Roxas’ presidential bid

Screengrabbed from Korina Sanchez-Roxas’ official Instagram account.

The camp of administration presidential bet Manuel “Mar” Roxas II has now tapped the help of teen actress Kathryn Bernardo to help in Roxas’ bid to reach a younger part of the electorate.

In an Instagram post on Sunday, broadcast journalist Korina Sanchez-Roxas revealed that Bernardo has followed the lead of her onscreen partner Daniel Padilla to campaign for the administration bet.

READ: For ‘masa’ appeal, Roxas taps Daniel Padilla

The teen actors, dubbed as the “Teen King and Queen,” were seen wearing yellow outfits and flashing the “Laban” sign alongside with the Roxas and Sanchez-Roxas.

Sanchez-Roxas captioned the photo with: “#KathNiel is for Mar! Teen King and Queen Daniel Padilla and Kathryn Bernardo go for Mar Roxas for President in 2016!#DaangMatuwidPaMore”

Netizens’ reactions to the photo were mixed: some said that they support the teen loveteam’s decision while some questioned the amount paid in order to secure the pair’s endorsement.

The Liberal Party first tapped Padilla’s star power in a video where the teen actor and Roxas discussed Manila’s horrible traffic situation.

READ: Daniel Padilla poses questions to Mar Roxas

In the said three-minute video, Roxas laid out his plans to solve the traffic woes in the metropolis which include the construction of the connector road linking the North and South Luzon expressways and revamping the system of granting franchises to public utility buses.

Another video of Padilla with Roxas showed the administration candidate answering questions regarding the rehabilitation of Tacloban City following the onslaught of super typhoon “Yolanda” (Haiyan).

Team Daang Matuwid spokesperson Barry Gutierrez has earlier said that they tapped Padilla to fix the “masa appeal” of Roxas.

“We want him (Padilla), as a matinee idol, to draw people in and engage them in a discussion of the important issues. Initially, we want to attract his fans to our message,” Gutierrez was quoted as saying in an Inquirer report.

The latest Pulse Asia presidential poll survey showed Roxas placing only third from front-runner Senator Grace Poe and second placer Vice President Jejomar Binay. AJH