Maharlika: political  influencer or political turncoat

As with every aspect of life in today’s world, the presence of social media personalities and influencers is to be expected. Not to be left behind in the digital marketing race is modern politics filled with political influencers helping shape the contours of public discourse.

These influential figures wield considerable power through their platforms, championing causes, shaping opinions and, ultimately, guiding masses. One such figure is vlogger/blogger Maharlika.

Political blogger Maharlika rose to fame as a pro-Marcos content creator.

This was the profile picture on Maharlika’s first Facebook page. “Balitang Maharlika” has now been deactivated since the blogger started to be anti-Marcos.

An active YouTuber present on both Facebook and X, Maharlika started to gain popularity during the 2022 national elections where she was quickly identified as pro-BBM-Sara. She was also tagged as creating pro-Marcos content on her now-deactivated Facebook page “Balitang Maharlika” which even sported a photo of her with PBBM as its profile picture.

On February 14, 2022, vice-presidential aspirant Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan filed a cyber libel case against Maharlika and her YouTube channel for releasing “libelous videos” about him and his family. Maharlika was undeterred–she was a diehard supporter of BBM-Sara and did not care if that put her in hot water.

She was jubilant when her chosen pair won and was even seen celebrating at the BBM-Sara campaign headquarters in Mandaluyong City after the election results were released. And then with a flick of a wrist, the winds changed.

Maharlika, once the pro-Marcos content creator, is now one of the most rabid voices against the President, his family and administration. With one livestream after another, this blogger commentates and laments on her “wrong decision” to support PBBM and executed a complete and sudden turnaround from her pro-BBM days.

But it seems the past never forgets as trending now on social media is a video of Maharlika seemingly sent to First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos. In the video the blogger referred to herself as the First Lady’s “friend” who always supports the government. She proceeded to cheerily greet the President and their three sons a merry Christmas and ended the video saying “I love you” and “thank you” to the First Lady. Netizens were quick to note the stark contrast of her demeanor in that video to her often angry and angsty stance nowadays.

Mister.Robee on TikTok reacted to Maharlika’s viral video.

In various social media posts about Maharlika’s past video, online users swiftly commented on her sharp shift from a fervent advocate for the president to now being one of his loudest detractors. In a Tiktok, user Mister.Robee urged his audience to judge for themselves the content of the viral video. Comments on his TikTok mostly questioned the abrupt change in nature of Maharlika with some netizens saying she reminds them of former “friends” they had.

In a YouTube Short, blogger Juan Estoryador played the viral video first and then, to show how the tides have changed, played a clip of Maharlika’s more recent video rants against the First Family.

YouTuber Juan Estoryador remarks on Maharlika being a turncoat .

In a Facebook post by blogger Palerista TV, he claimed that the reason for Maharlika’s sudden reversal is that she asked for a position in the Philippine Embassy in the United States of America and was not given one. Maharlika resides in Los Angeles, California.

I would agree that everyone is free to change their mind as it is after all fundamental to human nature. However, I also believe that political influencers should be held to a high degree of scrutiny due to the considerable impact of their words and actions on captive audiences.

As Maharlika’s social media narrative continues to unfold, it invites a broader conversation about accountability and trustworthiness in the realm of political influence especially in the digital arena. In an era where transparency is both sought-after and elusive, the compelling question remains: Which political influencers can be fully trusted when there is always that inherent tug of personal agenda?

It is only the public who can discern and decide.