Actress and filmmaker Bela Padilla didn’t hold back in a recent interview with journalist Karen Davila, where she compared lifestyles in London and the Philippines — and took aim at the culture of flaunting luxury brands.
Padilla, who lived in London for several years, said the experience gave her a new perspective on culture and daily life.
“Simple pero engrande. I saw so many things that I wouldn’t see here. I watch plays, full-on productions. I got to experience the efficiency of a first world country. Sadly, now that I’m back, we’re still so far away from,” she said.
The conversation later shifted to the phenomenon of “nepo babies, nepo wives, nepo this, nepo that” and the flaunting of wealth. Padilla noted how different Londoners’ fashion sensibilities are compared to Filipinos who wear head-to-toe branded looks.
“You don’t see people wearing branded stuff, like, super in your face, you know? If they do, it’s one. It’s one piece in their whole outfit. It’s not brand on brand on brand,” Padilla explained.
She admitted she finds the trend distasteful in the Philippines.
“Dito, it’s so tacky. I’m sorry to say, but it’s so tacky. Sorry,” she said, before adding, “No, pero nababaduyan kasi ako. Brand on brand on brand. Guys, have some, ano naman, have some class. Kainis.”
Her remarks come at a time when the flaunting of luxury goods by so-called “Disney princesses” and “nepo babies” has stirred debate online, especially amid the public’s anger over alleged corruption in multi-billion-peso flood control projects of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
Padilla also touched on politics, saying she doesn’t see herself running for office but lamented the current state of leadership in the country.
“At my core, I’m an actress, I’m a writer, and I’m a director. But honestly right now, I feel like somebody can be a politician,” she said.
“’Cause at the state of how our country is, I would pick a random person on the street right now and choose them to be there, instead of the people we have at the moment—I’m sorry,” she added.
She further expressed frustration at unprepared candidates who take public office. “I just have a really big pet peeve for people who run for office and they don’t study, like they don’t study even just basic governance.”
