Bagani lead actress Liza Soberano in “boiling water” for tweeting she’s Filipino because she likes Sinigang. Soberano took to Twitter on Sunday a response to all the bashers saying “she’s not Filipino” and “not suitable” for the role in ABS-CBN’s upcoming show.

Starred by Liza Soberano and Enrique Gil, Bagani is a 2018 teleserye under ABS-CBN. The series also stars Sofia Andres, Makisig Morales, and Matteo Guidicelli.

Bagani star on ‘missing’ the point

Liza Soberano tweeted on Friday, “And who says we’re not Pinoy? My Father is full Filipino. I was raised by 2 Filipinos since the age of 4. I looooove sinigang I think that’s as Pinoy as Pinoy can get.”

AND WHO SAYS WERE NOT PINOY? MY FATHER IS FULL FILIPINO. I WAS RAISED BY TWO FILIPINOS SINCE THE AGE OF 4. I LOOOOOVE SINIGANG I THINK THATS AS PINOY AS PINOY CAN GET.

— LIZA SOBERANO (@LIZASOBERANO) FEBRUARY 16, 2018

Meanwhile, netizens were not pleased with how Soberano qualified herself. They tweeted responses claiming Soberano missed the point.

This isn’t abt who ur dad is/who raised u/how much u luv sinigang. WE ALL LOVE SINIGANG. This is about how YOU need to be more informed & responsible with the roles u accept; how u r propagating a culture that takes away roles from just-as-capable-&-beautiful Morena actors

— mandy 📌 #SVT_AUDIO_KIT #SVT_Darling #달링 (@laissezferre) February 18, 2018

One pointed out the resemblance of the situation to Taylor Swift and Nicki Minaj’s feud. The netizen claims that this is equal to the “white privilege” Taylor Swift had over Nicki Minaj.

This whole Liza missing the point thing reminds me of Taylor swift missing the point of Nicki Minaj going off about music videos and awards nominations representation. Is hard to see the other side's point, when you're on the privileged side.

— Justine LT Chua (@justineltchua) February 18, 2018

But another netizen claimed that Soberano’s ethnicity is not the one questioned here. “She’s a Filipino, case closed.” But the problem is how we represent what being “Filipino” means in the media.

JOKES ASIDE, LET’S GET THIS STRAIGHT: LIZA SOBERANO’S ETHNICITY (AND ITS DEGREE) IS NOT WHAT’S IN QUESTION. SHE’S A FILIPINO, CASE CLOSED.

WHAT MATTERS IS HOW WE REPRESENT WHAT BEING FILIPINO MEANS IN THE MEDIA, AND THE HARMFUL STEREOTYPES WE CONSTANTLY LIMIT OURSELVES TO.

— NATHANIA CHUA (@PILOSOPOTANYA) FEBRUARY 19, 2018

What a ‘Bagani’ really is

According to an article by Inquirer, a Bagani is a tribal warrior. They serve and protect their tribes from imminent danger. But in today’s time, Baganis are not existing anymore since tribes have established peace amongst them. “We used to take revenge to settle disputes,” Datu Taday said. “If one of our own is killed, we retaliate. But now, we have the government. We cannot take matters into our own hands.”

In a Facebook post, a netizen pointed out how the Armed Forces of the Philippines used Baganis “weapons” to disperse tribes. Lumads trained to carry firearms and to kill fellow Lumads.

In response to Soberano’s tweet, he said that “Sinasalamin ng tweets na ‘to ang pagtingin ng burgis na kultura sa kasaysayan ng mga Lumad, pagiging invisible ng IPs sa textbooks at ang mukha ng IPs sa mainstream media: nangingibabaw ang exoticism, kawalan ng politika at itinatatago ang mahabang kasaysayan ng pakikibaka ng mga Lumad.”

The writer of the show Mark Angos may have failed to realize that Bagani is not a fictional universe but is a factual one based on Datu Taday’s narration. In a tweet, Angos claims that Bagani is a “fantasy universe inspired by Philippine mythology.”
@markangos on Twitter (Screenshot)
Bagani airs on March 05, taking the place of the KathNiel hit “La Luna Sangre.”