vSenator Lito Lapid, along with the Senate President himself, Tito Sotto, and Robin Padilla, are the three Upper House legislators from show business who are untainted with alleged “collections” from the funding of infrastructure projects in the country. 

As of his reelection in May 2025, Lapid has had four terms as a senator, with each term lasting six years. His terms are not all consecutive due to the constitutional term limits for senators. 

His senatorial terms are from 2004 to 2010; from 2010 to 2016; from 2019 to 2025; and from 2025 to 2031.

As for Sotto, he has been elected to five non-consecutive terms as a senator of the Philippines, making him the longest-serving senator in the country’s history. 

His first two consecutive terms are from 1992 to 2004. He had another consecutive term (third and fourth) from 2010 to 2022. His current fifth term began in June 2025.

Padilla is in his first term as a senator. He ran in the 2022 national elections and emerged with 26.6 million votes, the highest ever for senators that year. 

Many Pinoy showbiz followers have been praying that senators Jinggoy Estrada and Bong Revilla would soon be found to be not guilty of their alleged involvement in the “floodgate” by receiving millions in cash from the Department of Public Works and Highways for their supposed assistance in getting multi-billion infrastructure projects funded. 

If they are found guilty and sentenced to imprisonment, it would be the second time for both to be incarcerated. Both allegedly got involved with the misuse of their respective “pork barrel” (legally known as Priority Development Assistance Fund). Both were acquitted in 2018 by the Sandiganbayan after four years of detention at Camp Crame. 

Meanwhile, Lapid seems to have never attended any of the Senate hearings on “floodgate.” He also seems to have never made a sound regarding the seemingly pervasive life of corruption in the country. He does not have personal social media accounts, though various fan accounts for him seem to be active only during election campaign seasons. 

Showbiz events (films, TV, concerts, theater productions, streamed music and streamed entertainment productions) seem to be more than enough distractions for Pinoys who are now bombarded with reports on “floodgate” anomalies and entangled personalities from both private and government/political sectors. 

Even in a concert in faraway Japan, the P-pop boys SB19 allotted time to express their concern for the future of the country and their fans. 

Watch out for these film festivals

The rain of water and corruption do not prevent film and music festivals from unfolding. Some film festivals offer free admission or reduced ticket prices. 

Sinag Maynila Film Fest is ongoing in Metro Manila theaters at admission tickets of only P250, way below the prevailing P400. 

The Spanish Film Festival (SFF) overlaps for a few days in October with Cinemalaya. Dubbed as Pelicula, the SFF runs from 10 to 16 October at the Ayala Triangle Gardens and Powerplant Mall in Makati. Since 2002, Pelicula has become a much-awaited annual event in Philippine theaters. This year’s festival will showcase over 20 acclaimed films from Spain, Latin America and the Philippines.

 The SFF opens on 10 October at Ayala Triangle Gardens with the screening over the week. Audiences will enjoy a variety of genres, including dramas such as Soy Nevenka (Icíar Bollaín, 2024) and Nosotros (Helena Taberna, 2024); documentaries such as Un hombre libre (Laura Hojman, 2024) and La guitarra flamenca de Yerai Cortés (C. Tangana, 2024); and animations such as Mariposas negras (David Baute, 2024) and Robotia.

There are documentaries as well: Un hombre libre, about Spanish writer Agustín Gómez Arcos, and La guitarra flamenca de Yerai Cortés, about the flamenco guitar player Yerai Cortés.

Spanish animated films make a return in Mariposas negras, directed by David Baute, and Robotia, directed by Diego Cagie and Diego Lucero.

On 12 October, children will have a chance to win several footballs and an official Real Madrid jersey signed by football legend Emilio Butragueño.

Pelicula’s section En corto: Short films from the Philippines, Latin America, and Spain will feature three Filipino shorts — Animal Lovers by Aedrian Araojo, Lip Sync Assassin by Jon Galvez and Radikals by Arvin Belarmino.

The section Cine Maratón will present a day of films on 11 October at the Ayala Triangle, as a celebration to mark the festival’s move back to Makati.

Its program will have five films, including the opening film El 47; Dalia y el libro rojo, directed by David Bisbano; Tasio, directed by Montxo Armendáriz; Solos en la noche, directed by Guillermo Rojas; and Reinas. It will run from 11:45 a.m. to 11 p.m.

That same day, Instituto Cervantes will host an activity for children, inviting participants to try arts and crafts and games. After that, the rest of the festival will move to the Power Plant Mall Cinemas.

All the films will have English subtitles and the screenings are free and open to the public. For a complete list of films and the screening schedule, visit the festival’s website or the Facebook or Instagram pages of Instituto Cervantes de Manila.