Dolly De Leon underscores importance of speaking up about politics, governance

Dolly De Leon underscored the importance of expressing one's opinion, especially when it comes to politics and governance.

The BAFTA and Golden Globe nominee guested in the latest episode of "Power Talks with Pia Arcangel" where she admitted that it is her nature to be really opinionated.

"May opinion ako about anything and everything. Since bata pa ako, ganu’n na talaga ako," she said.

"I really like to express my opinion and for me, it’s really important that all of us express our opinion about everything that goes on in the world that we're moving in and especially the society that we live in, especially when it comes to governance, the way we're being governed."

According to Dolly, people tend to forget sometimes that public servants are there to serve the people and not the other way around.

"We voted for them so that they can serve us properly so if they do anything wrong, it's only in our place to call them out on it," she added.

Dolly also shared that she has no reservations about using her art as a platform to share her opinions, saying that politics cannot be separated from anything else.

"Politics is a main part of our culture and our lives. Everything is political. What we say is political, our beliefs are political, how we talk to and deal with the people we work with is political, so how can it not be a part of that?" she said.

For Dolly, separating life from art does not make sense because art imitates life and life is also a reflection of art.

She believes that people "should always have a voice when it comes to politics and governance," even artists like herself.

"How we are governed by our politicians is reflective of how we live our lives and sometimes how they rule us and how they govern us puts a limit on how we can fully express ourselves as human beings," she shared.

"So, kailangan talaga meron tayong boses pagdating diyan and just because artist lang kami doesn't mean wala kaming karapatan na magsalita about it."

While some people may not agree with her views, the "Triangle of Sadness" said that one cannot please everybody.

Aside from being vocal about various issues, Dolly is also active in pushing for the causes she holds dear.

She shared in the episode that she is focused on the Deaf community because she has a Deaf son.

"It's really important that we push for communication available to them, like providing sign language or an interpreter and some people already do that," she said, noting that some artists now have sign language interpreters in their concerts.

"It's important that we reach the Deaf community by being supportive towards them," she added.

Dolly also expressed her support for the LGBTQ+ community and the Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity or Expression, or Sex Characteristics (SOGIESC) bill.

"For me, I really strongly believe that it should be passed already, so that we have equal rights as everyone else in the world and also when it comes to employment," she said.

Dolly will star in Season 2 of "Nine Perfect Strangers" alongside Nicole Kidman. The new season is set to premiere on May 15 on Amazon Prime.

—CDC, GMA Integrated News