Liza Soberano leads talk on women's rights only for vlogger to call her 'communist'

Actress Liza Soberano got red-tagged by a netizen following her appearance at a recently concluded online forum—one spearheaded by Gabriela Youth.

Vlogger Maui Vega claimed that the actress has joined Gabriela Youth, which she labeled “a front of the Communists!” in the description box of the video. The netizen also included the hashtags #NPA, #Velasco, #ThinkingPinoy, and #LeniRobredo in the post.

At the webinar dubbed “Mga Tinig ni Nene: Reclaiming Our Voices on the International Day of the Girl Child," Soberano talked about violence against women and girls as well as other problems and injustices women encounter each day.

"The norm of society has conditioned women and children to stay quiet when dealing with hardships and struggles because nobody is going to do anything, anyway,” Soberano said. “Yet, why do they also expect us women, women alike and children, to remain resilient through these struggles?”

“I find it so unfair that we, women, have to go out every day in fear of getting catcalled, in fear of dressing a certain way and getting called out for the way we’re dressed,” she added.

Soberano, however, also got real on the reason why she kept mum on issues back then. “Ang paniniwala ko dati, ‘pag artista ka, umiiwas ka sa lahat ng issues,” she explained, admitting her fear of people’s judgment. “They would say ‘what do I know,’ I’m ‘just a girl,’ I’m ‘just an actress.’” 

Taking inspiration from fellow women’s rights advocates Angel Locsin, Emma Watson, and Angelina Jolie, the ABS-CBN talent could only stress the importance of taking a side on issues, “so that we can create a better future for everyone.”

Other netizens quickly sent Soberano their support with the recent Twitter trend #DefendLizaSoberano. They even said that Maui Vega's accusations can even result in a cyberlibel case.

From Soberano's end, her manager Ogie Diaz thanked her supporters on the same platform for coming to her defense.

Just last month, Soberano filed a criminal complaint against a netizen who made a rape remark against her.