‘KathNiel’ calls for responsible social media use to spread awareness about coronavirus

Kathryn Bernardo (left) and Daniel Padilla

Be wary of fake news,” said Kathryn Bernardo when the Inquirer asked her and love-team partner Daniel Padilla for tips on how millennials can help stop the spread of panic in relation to the health concern that has now affected more than 20 countries across the globe.

“Since we’re always on social media, we should use it to spread awareness about the virus,” Kathryn said. She was referring to the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV), which originated in Wuhan, China. The Philippines has so far reported three confirmed 2019-nCov acute respiratory disease cases and 133 patients under investigation, or PUIs.

“But the news has to be accurate, so we should think before we post. There are a lot of information being uploaded online about it these days, but you’re not always sure if they’re true. We should be able to determine which sources are reliable and which ones are fake,” Kathryn pointed out.

“What’s happening now is no joke. There are a lot of people in hospitals because of it. There are also quite a number who ended up dead because of it,” Daniel said on Wednesday during the launch of KathNiel as ambassadors of the online financial service app PayMaya’s “BalikBayad” campaign.

“We need to be more cautious. Prevention is the key. Even though we’re not sick, we should work on strengthening our bodies, and boosting our immune system,” advised Daniel. “Let’s refrain from going to crowded places and always wear masks. It’s also important to wash hands and disinfect with alcohol.”

Daniel said that more than the fear of actually catching the virus himself, he was more concerned with his younger siblings, who leave the house every day for school. “I explain to them what’s happening and remind them to always be clean, to take a bath as often as they could,” he shared with Inquirer Entertainment. “I also tell them to pray. My God! A lot of depressing things are happening all at the same time. Let’s pray that everything will be OK eventually.”

For their PayMaya ad campaign, Kathryn and Daniel (collectively known as KathNiel) are seen battling with the ’90s penultimate Pinoy kontrabida, Rez Cortez, in an action TV commercial, complete with guns and goons. “We enjoyed making the ad. It’s not the usual commercial that you see from us. It’s very engaging,” Kathryn said. “Sadly, there were more fun scenes that got edited out,” Daniel added.

As for their small-screen project for their home network, ABS-CBN, KathNiel will be working on a romantic drama with “Tanging Mahal” as working title. Kathryn said they would attend a production meeting on Thursday to finalize the story, as well as to discuss details about the full-length feature that they will shoot toward the end of 2020.

Meanwhile, Kathryn congratulated Daniel, her real- and reel-life partner, for producing the music video of “Big White Wall” by the alternative rock band Jose Carlito. Daniel, who went by the name Johnny Moonlight, was also the assistant director of Peewee Gonzales, who helmed the video.

“What’s important is that he enjoyed the process,” Kathryn said. “I guess that’s why the project turned out great.”

“It’s a big deal for any band to have a music video to promote them. I hope to be able to make more projects like this,” Daniel said. “I learned a lot from Peewee. I just asked and he patiently gave me answers. I’m very thankful to him. I know marami pa akong kakaining bigas [in terms of directing].”