The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
By Alvin I. Dacanay
Filipino-Australian actress Anne Curtis again ruled Twitter this year after the social-networking site revealed last week that she tops the list of the 10 most followed Filipino accounts, of which eight are owned by fellow celebrities, and that half of its 10 most influential moments of 2016 are entertainment-related events.
In a statement, Twitter said that, as of December 5, Curtis (@annecurtissmith) has 8.44 million followers. She is followed by actress Angel Locsin (@143redangel), with 8.38 million; comedian and It’s Showtime co-host Vice Ganda (@vicegandako), whose real name is Jose Marie Viceral and who recorded the greatest increase in the number of followers—1.6 million—in 2016, with 8.17 million; actress Kathryn Bernardo (@bernardokath), with 6.57 million; and Bernardo’s onscreen romantic partner Daniel Padilla (@imdanielpadilla), with 5.57 million.
All five are contract talents of the Lopez-owned entertainment and media conglomerate ABS-CBN Corp.
Rounding out the Top 10 is noontime show Eat Bulaga! co-host Maine “YayaDub” Mendoza (@ maindcm), one half of the phenomenally popular and profitable AlDub love team; with 4.22 million; Relationship (@ohteenquotes), which only posts quotes about love and relationships, with 4.04 million; Tony-winning actress, singer, and The Voice of the Philippines coach Lea Salonga (@MsLeaSalonga), with 3.9 million; model Georgina Wilson (@ilovegeorgina), with 3.89 million; and actor and Eat Bulaga! co-host Alden Richards (@aldenrichards02), the other half of AlDub, with 3.87 million.
Both Richards and Mendoza figure prominently on the list of Twitter’s most influential moments, described by the site as “where Filipinos went first to ask questions, get answers or share ideas about the biggest conversations happening in the Philippines and the world throughout 2016.”
Mendoza was part of the site’s second most influential moment, the 2016 Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards, during which she bested fellow nominees Bernardo, Enrique Gil, and James Reid to win the Favorite Pinoy Personality prize. She did so following a campaign supported by Richards and that saw fans sending millions of tweets with the hashtag #VoteMaineFPP.
AlDub itself was the third most influential moment, which Twitter noted “amassed over 200 related hashtags [highlighting] key milestones throughout the year.”
“The love team’s road to Twitter stardom continued as AlDub’s Valentine’s Day campaign #AlDubIsLove amassed over 4.1 million tweets. In July AlDub celebrated their #AlDub1stAnniversary with 6.6 million tweets, along with a customized Twitter emoji—the first created for a TV show in Southeast Asia,” Twitter said.
“In appreciation of their fans’ support, the couple had their first movie #AlDubImagineYouAndMe, which accumulated 7.8 million tweets in its first week. When the couple finally tied the knot on October 22, fans sent over 8 million tweets using the #AlDubWedding hashtag,” it added.
A top-rated ABS-CBN primetime drama program starring Reid and Nadine Lustre, titled On the Wings of Love, took the No. 4 spot on the list. Twitter described the series as a “love story” about “Clark and Leah, who conquered immigration challenges in the United States to be together.”
“Filipinos got so hooked on the plot that they marked significant moments with hashtags, such as #OTWOLArrival, #OTWOLMostKiligNight, #OTWOLTheAminanNight, and #OTWOLTheLastFlight,” it said.
Fifth on the list is the worldwide contest Twitter launched for South Korean boy band Bangtan Boys (BTS) that involved tweeting the hashtag #loveBTS, in which their ardent Filipino fans put the country in sixth place among the 10 countries that tweeted that hashtag the most in May. The K-Pop group later had a concert in Manila on July 30.
Claiming seventh place was the homecoming of Miss Universe 2015 Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach in late January, which, Twitter said, “saw a proud nation…expressed pride and adoration using #MissUMostBeautifulDay, #PiaTheRoadToTheCrown and #WelcomeHomePia hashtags.”
“Generating over 430,000 tweets for [the] homecoming queen, Pia’s fans also got a special session with her via the #AskMissUniverse Twitter Q&A party. In April, [she] had the honor of passing on the crown to the new #BbPilipinas2016 Universe Maxine Medina—an event that amassed 340,000 tweets as she took her final walk on stage and gave a very emotional, heartfelt farewell speech,” the site said.
Completing the list of Twitter’s most influential moments are the 2016 Philippine elections and President Duterte, which ranked first; the games of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP), which placed sixth; the fights of senator and boxer Manny Pacquiao, which came in eighth place; the controversial burial of former dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani (Heroes’ Cemetery) in Taguig City, which ranked ninth; and Typhoon Lawin, in 10th place.