People have been unnecessarily harsh to Liza Soberano. The 25-year-old actress released a bombshell of a vlog, where she spoke out her truth — including why she decided to leave an established career with ABS-CBN and the management of Ogie Diaz as one of the network’s biggest and most bankable stars, venturing into the unknown, including chasing a potential Hollywood career with James Reid’s agency, Careless.
Liza spoke out about a lot of things: her realizations during the pandemic, and how working since she was 12 years old has led her to feel boxed in her career. She even touched on her name, Liza, now wanting to be addressed more as Hope, her real name.
“The pandemic was the first time in my life where I was allowed to stop and be still. This forced me to think: I didn't have a childhood nor did I have the chance to grow and become an adult on my own terms,” the actress began in the 14-minute video.
“I had always been told what to do, what to wear, what to say, and what not to say. I know this was for my own good. It was to protect me and my career, but it was a career that I had no say in. A career that in many ways wasn't mine. I didn't even choose the name Liza. It was chosen for me,” she added.
Liza’s revelations did not sit well with many viewers and so-called “fans,” who called the celebrity’s actions a “betrayal” and said she had no utang na loob, adding that she wanted to be an artista in the first place and basically suck everything up.
Ah, yes, the classically Filipino utang na loob, literally translating to indebtedness of one’s inner self — as common as it is, it seems to be the one intangible debt that one can never pay enough with.
The truth is, Liza is far from the first celebrity to be thrown this accusation. Remember about 16 years ago, we called Angel Locsin the same thing after she announced her transfer to ABS-CBN? Even more recently, Bea Alonzo was called an ingrate for moving to rival GMA-7 after over 20 years with the Kapamilya network.
With Liza, however, there seems to be an especially vitriolic nature to her actions. Some people say that there were things that were better left unsaid in her video, while others thought the 25-year-old was “delusional” for going after a Hollywood career and leaving a massive career and reputation in the Philippines.
Read more: Liza Soberano Says She Was *Restricted* In Her Past Career: 'I've sacrificed my freedom’
Let’s get one thing clear: a lack of honesty does not equate to being ungrateful. For too long, we have been taught to hold back against speaking our minds or be seen as someone with no semblance of gratitude.
But why do people have to lie or bite their tongues in order to protect other people’s feelings, at the expense of their own welfare? Sometimes, there are conversations that need to be had — even difficult ones — if it means standing up for yourself, fighting for what is right, or advocating for meaningful change. Honestly, life is too short to leave things unsaid, especially if speaking your truth and staying authentic means saying your piece and staying free.
It’s moments like these when we need to take an honest assessment of certain cultural norms and traits of ours and wonder where they fit in today’s sensibilities. It’s quite ironic: as children, we are taught to help our kapwa, to show compassion for others without expecting anything in return. Yet all the same, when someone shows so much as a little kindness towards you, you now have an invisible line of debt that can’t just seem to get repaid no matter what you do — to the point that even your own life choices or autonomy feel like they have been pawned to the people who have helped you in the first place.
And then there’s the issue of her Hollywood career move, a path that many called stupid and unrealistic — making jabs at her supposed lack of talent and what she could possibly offer to glitzy Tinseltown.
It’s crazy how celebrity culture in this country has led many of us to think that we fans are entitled to a star’s explanations or that we even have a say in their decisions, to the point that we have to belittle or insult someone for even daring to dream big. Add to the fact that social media has emboldened so many to spew out hate and cruelty that one normally wouldn’t say in person, thanks to the veneer of online profiles. In this digital age where everyone has an opinion on something, this mema culture has gone overboard, as if we forget that behind a 14-minute vlog is a real human being with feelings, too.
Yet this kind of mema mentality is not only confined to the stars we idolize; we can be as cruel, perhaps even more so, to the people around us. Many “ordinary” women who don’t belong to the world of showbiz go against the grain and work hard to achieve what many think is the impossible or unimaginable, yet are discouraged by the same people who call them ambisyosa — those who basically tell them they can dream, but not too high. Like these women need their permission to even think of wanting more.
And while Liza Soberano is one of the biggest names in showbiz, what is happening to her is a reflection of how we view young people, especially women, in this society across various backgrounds: Their life and their choices do not belong to them, but to the people who have “helped” them be who they are today.
It’s why so many struggle to break free from norms and societal expectations and are unable to live true to themselves. This is why young women have a hard time deciding so much as to what course they should pursue in college, why relatives interfere with their love lives and pressure them to “get married before it’s too late,” or even act as the family’s breadwinner, always putting others’ needs before her own at the expense of her own dreams and aspirations — all because of utang na loob. And while we understand different circumstances merit different nuances, the point remains that so many people — celebrities or otherwise — understand the struggle of having to hold the opinions of others before their own because they’re afraid of judgment and backlash.
What about the child-free Filipina who constantly gets judged because of her refusal to bring a child into this world? What about the creative soul aching to express herself but is stuck in a traditional career she is unhappy with? Would we call those people ungrateful, too? Facets of our culture continue to hold back people because of imposed societal standards and expectations, at the expense of preventing them from living life on their own terms.
And what a waste for these young people to lose the opportunity to explore their boundaries and find themselves, even if it means encountering the risk of failure. Liza is 25 years old — it’s a young age, but also a crucial time for her to explore who she is, especially outside of a love team and the image she has been confined to for the past decade. This means taking risks and exploring the unknown, even if it means leaving a zone of comfort and security.
And while yes, ABS-CBN and even her former manager have helped her to become who she is today, we’re forgetting the most important person who put her there in the first place: herself. It was Liza who put in the work, acted in all those shows and movies, showed up for every photoshoot and mall show, and committed herself to improving her craft. It is incredible how in the conversation of indebtedness and gratitude, we run the risk of minimizing the credit that rightfully belongs to the artist herself.
Liza needs no permission from her fans or anyone else on what she decides to do next, the same way none of us owe anyone any explanation or apologies for what we do with our lives. At the end of the day, Liza — or Hope — is simply moving on to the next chapter of her life, and we can’t fault her for following her heart, taking a leap of faith to find out who she is as a person and as an artist. As she best said, "This is not a story of bitterness or regret. In fact, it's the opposite. It's a story about growth and gratitude. At 24 years old, I was finally given the choice to decide my own path."
