MANILA — Liza Soberano made a surprise appearance at a private event in Makati on Tuesday where her friend and photographer BJ Pascual was launched as a regional ambassador for a popular cosmetic brand.

In an exclusive interview with ABS-CBN News, Soberano responded to her critics calling her “ungrateful” after she released her most recent vlog where she shared thoughts and insights on her 13-year stint with ABS-CBN before moving to James Reid’s management company, Careless.

“I feel like a lot of people have mixed reactions towards my vlog, but I’m speaking for my experiences and I will reiterate that I am truly grateful for everything that I had and everything that I had experienced, everything that I have achieved in life. And I acknowledge that I wouldn’t have any of that if everybody along the way wasn’t there with me,” said Soberano.

She emphasized that she was never upset with her decade-long career with the Kapamilya network. She also saw the video uploaded by her former manager Ogie Diaz and agreed with everything that he said, except for the part about the screen name “Liza.”

To which, Soberano made this clarification: “When I mentioned that in my vlog, that was more of me just stating a fact. I never mentioned that I didn’t like the name ‘Liza Soberano’ or that I wasn’t proud of it. It’s just the fact that I wasn’t the one who chose my name because that’s one thing that a lot of people don’t know about me.”

“I want to tell him that I’m very grateful for everything that he has contributed to me, personally and to my career. And I will always be grateful for that.”

For the past two days, Soberano has been trending on social media and she acknowledged that some people are calling her “ungrateful” or “inggrata” or “walang utang na loob” in Filipino.

Responding to such label, she said: “I guess my video was really up for other people’s interpretation but I know my piece and I am very grateful. I’ve never felt to express that I feel like before, even before I decided to sign for a new management company, I was always there for everybody who has helped me along the way and my journey. And even before, the number one thing I would always say to everyone is thank you, truly grateful. And that has not changed until now. I’m not upset about anything, I’m just stating facts, things I’ve experienced, things I’ve been through. And how I am moving forward for that.”

People can still call her “Liza,” she said, adding that she will still be carrying that screen name.

Currently, Soberano has no Manila-based projects lined up at the moment, and together with her Careless team, she is focused on building her career in Hollywood. But she’s also working on something for her Filipino fans that will be released soon.

Soberano also stated that she is not moving to Los Angeles for good. The actress clarified that she was just looking for a place to stay in every time she’s in the City of aAngels.

“I’ll be here 50% of the year, 50% in America. I think a lot of people got kind of confused by my vlog with Patrick Starr when I said that I’m moving to LA. When we mentioned that, because we were looking for a place in LA. So that when I’m there, I don’t have to rent an AirBnb or a hotel, because it’s really expensive. So I’m looking for a place that I have to stay in when I’m there, but I’m not moving there for good.”