Megastar Sharon Cuneta-Pangilinan turned emotional, lamenting the smear campaign hurled against her husband, former senator Kiko Pangilinan, who’s gunning for a fresh term in the Senate.

In a press conference in Quezon City last May 5, the actress said she couldn’t understand why voters wouldn’t choose her husband, a seasoned lawmaker.

“I never liked politics,” she said, despite being the daughter of the late former Pasay Mayor Pablo Cuneta and a wife to a three-term senator.

“Kasi nga (Because), in the Philippines, pagkaganda-ganda man ng intensyon mo, pagkaayos-ayos man ng puso mo, natatalo ka ng fake news saka budget na bilyon-bilyon ng ibang kandidato — na wala naman kami (no matter how good your intentions are, even if you have a good heart, you’re going to lose to fake news and billions of budget of other candidates—which we do not have),” Cuneta added.

The Megastar has been accompanying Pangilinan in his campaign sorties and rallies, the last in Mindanao where she was warmly welcomed with applauses and cheers.

But her husband, who’s running under the platform of food security, has been lagging in pre-election surveys. His numbers have slumped further and landed well outside the Magic 12 in the latest Pulse Asia survey.

He bemoaned the barrage of fake news and disinformation, including a food blog where he was seen eating rice and carabao milk on a pot lid, about him on social media, and urged voters to be more discerning of such posts.

With Election Day now just five days away, Pangilinan is scheduled to barnstorm Luzon—Ilocos Sur, La Union, and Pangasinan on May 8, Tarlac and Pampanga on May 9, and Bulacan and Quezon City on May 10, the last day of the campaign period.