Do we like Sharon Cuneta?
Our score: 7 out of 10. A long, clean public run with real generosity and a public defence of LGBTQ+ people, held back a notch by a thin record on climate and a messy June 2026 political fight.
Sharon Cuneta was born in 1966, the daughter of Pasay City mayor Pablo Cuneta, and was a teenage recording star. “Mr. DJ” made her a household name, her record sales hit the million mark, and the press crowned her the Megastar. Her 1981 film Dear Heart launched a screen career that ruled the Philippine box office through the 80s and 90s.
The fresh mess is June 2026. At a press briefing, 18 self-described former bodyguards, drivers and staff of ex-congressman Zaldy Co showed a photo of Cuneta and her husband, Senator Kiko Pangilinan, to back claims of cash deliveries in the flood control scandal. The Tribune reported Pangilinan was not explicitly named as a recipient. Cuneta denied it, saying the photo was from a post-election thank-you visit to Marawi, and asked why anyone would hand over a suitcase on such a public trip.
Pangilinan called it an attempt to discredit him as he was reportedly being appointed to head a Senate subpanel on the flood control probe, and warned of a slander case. The reports I read had no charges and no finding either way, so it sits as an allegation and a denial. That is the whole story as of the reporting I found; I saw nothing later.
Earlier, she and her husband filed cyber libel complaints against showbiz columnist Cristy Fermin over remarks on Fermin's YouTube channel. Fermin was charged with five counts in October 2024, and the couple withdrew the complaints in court in July 2025. GMA reported that followed Fermin's public apology, and Cuneta wrote that her heart was “so happy and at peace.” Picking peace over a fight is a good look.
On the harm check, nothing nasty from her own words turned up. In 2022 she publicly defended LGBTQ+ people, writing “I believe God doesn't make mistakes,” and said many people she loves and respects are LGBTQ+. Politically she has her own lane: in February 2026 she joked with President Marcos about his 2022 running-mate pick, then told him “you have my support.” Where you land on that depends on your view of the Marcos government. I found nothing on her stance on climate or vaccines, so that part of the test is thin.
The good stuff is real. In 2020 she quietly gave ₱3 million for COVID-19 relief for overcrowded hospitals, which Angel Locsin revealed because Cuneta did not want it public, and she helped send food to medical frontliners with her husband.