MANILA, Philippines — Senator Francis Pangilinan said his daughter Frankie has been receiving death threats due to her “outspokenness.”

Pangilinan revealed the predicament of his daughter during the “International Forum on Lawfare: Weaponizing Law vs. Democratic Dissent” on Friday at the De La Salle University in Manila.

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“Many of you are students here, in the academe. I remember my own daughter Frankie. Among the millennials, I’m known now as Frankie’s father rather than she being my daughter,” he said.

“I was an activist in the Marcos regime during the Marcos dictatorship. Now I understand how my father felt,” he added.

Pangilinan’s 19-year-old daughter with megastar Sharon Cuneta has shown that she is not one to shy away from speaking out about national and social issues.

“Frankie has been subjected to bashing, trolling, even death threats because of her outspokenness in the last several months. But I guess she is her father’s daughter. But in her, I see the hope,” the senator went on.

“In her, I see that there is hope for our nation. Among you, the young people, students, and youth, you will take up the cudgels and defeat tyranny and abuse,” he added.

During the forum, the senator has called on the Filipino people to “speak out” for democracy.

“The call to action is that democracy is not a spectator sport. If I’m not mistaken, it was the director, Michael Moore, who said that democracy is not a spectator sport,” he said.

“We are all participants in this democracy. We must stand up. We must have our voices heard. We must speak out,” he added.

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