NEIL Arce, the husband of Angel Locsin, came to the defense of Gela Alonte, who is currently thrust into the public eye after netizens called out the children of political families, including her, for flaunting their lavish lifestyle on social media amid the struggles of Filipinos.
Arce took to Instagram on Saturday, Aug. 30, to voice his support for Gela, the daughter of Angelo “Gel” Belizario Alonte, the incumbent mayor of Biñan City.
“History would prove that I would be 100% supportive of bashing the corrupt. But not Gela Alonte,” said Arce, who said Gela is not as “entitled” as others claim her to be.
“I have seen her work hard for what she has, and I have never seen a glimpse of brattiness or privilege when I work with her. Let’s continue calling people out, but let’s also make sure we call out the right ones,” he said.
Meanwhile, children of political families continue to face backlash especially those who appeared to be flaunting their wealth online in the wake of alleged anomalous multimillion-peso flood control projects involving government officials and contractors.
Amid the heightened criticism, an old clip of Gela from a TikTok live in 2024 resurfaced on the internet, in which she seemingly expressed how “unapologetic” she was about being born into a political dynasty family.
“Paano ba iyan, nasa political dynasty iyong pamilya ko. I mean, controversial,” she said at the time when asked her thoughts on the political dynasties being rampant in the Philippines.
On July 28, Gela addressed the issue through posts on X (formerly Twitter), expressing her regret over her earlier response.
“I didn’t laugh out of pride or arrogance; it was a nervous response to a question I knew would be met with criticism no matter how I answered. That was my mistake, and I take accountability for how I handled that moment,” she said.
“Nobody is perfect, yet so many of you act like you’ve never made any mistakes in your life just because they aren’t publicized. It’s not fair to use others’ mistakes against them when you can call them out properly and give them a chance to grow and learn,” added the internet personality.
Gela rose to fame as a content creator before she recently made her acting debut in the digital series adaptation of the Wattpad adaptation, “The Four Bad Boys and Me,” starring Anji Salvacion, Gelo Rivero, Harvey Bautista, and River Joseph.
Gela and River are currently in a relationship. (Jessica Ann Evangelista © Philippine Daily Inquirer)
