Rica Peralejo opens up about 'patol culture,' viral remark on Heart Evangelista
Rica Peralejo-Bonifacio talked "patol" culture on social media and her viral post about Heart Evangelista.
In July, Peralejo made rounds on social media with her post about not comparing oneself to celebrities, where she referenced Evangelista and pointed out that she's not struggling "like most of us."
"Para maging Heart E levels ang ganda natin is not only to Aivee ha. It is also those little unseen things. 'Yung hindi siya napupuyat kaka-alaga ng anak, hindi siya nagluluto, 'di naghuhugas ng pinggan, hindi siya nagbubuhat ng mga bagahe, hindi natutulog sa substandard materials or places. In short: Hindi siya nahihirapan like most of us," she wrote in her now-deleted Threads post.
Looking back on the issue, Peralejo admitted that she "regrets" using the actress-fashion style icon as a reference for her post.
"I rarely regret because sometimes, many times, it's really just a misunderstanding of people. But this one, I regret," she said in the sixth episode of PhilSTAR L!fe's Generations podcast.
"Wala akong ibig sabihin dun sa sinabi ko patungkol sa kanya. Kumbaga, it's not to put down Heart or anything," she explains. "In fact, kaya ko nasabi 'yun kasi I may know a little bit of Heart's life because I come from the same industry. And what I was trying to say in that text was like, it's a different world, guys, if you think that you could just be pretty like that. Hindi pwede na Heart E ka bukas, 'di ba?" she added.
The actress also expressed regret over how the discussion veered away from her point.
"Sabi nga ng isang friend ko, sayang ang ganda nung discussion. Sabi niya, kung nakuha lang nila 'yung point na 'yun, mas magandang pag-usapan 'yun kesa 'yung tungkol kay Heart kasi hindi naman siya about Heart at all," she added.
On engaging in 'patol culture'
Peralejo is known for openly sharing her views on different topics online. She described herself as an "early adopter" when it comes to social platforms and websites like Plurk, Multiply, and WordPress.
The actress recalled the first time she went viral for doing so on X (formerly Twitter). It was in 2015 when she was in the hospital for a stomach flu. While waiting, some staff asked her for a photo, which she obliged and asked if they could all do one together. However, the personnel started to take pictures with her one by one.
She later complained on X, calling the "nurses" unprofessional. "And the backlash was great because everybody got mad at me na parang, sino ka ba?" she shared, adding that social media users pointed out that the hospital staff she was referring to were not nurses, but doctors' secretaries.
"I was wrong for calling them nurses. But still, it felt to me na, 'why would you not care about a sick patient?' [...] Kahit pa si Anne Curtis 'yan, 'di ba? Pipila ka ba kung nakita mo na nga may sakit siya?" she said.
"Nagulat ako kaya siya memorable sa akin... Hindi ko talaga alam 'yung gagawin ko. Kasi in my mind, wala akong ginawang masama. Nagreklamo lang ako. May ginawa akong mali. Mali 'yung ginawa ko na nagreklamo ako sa Twitter," she continued, adding that she eventually apologized on the matter.
Describing herself as "strongly opinionated," Peralejo said that she reacts to topics she feels strongly about.
In the past, she defended the LGBTQ+ community from a basher who believes other genders shouldn't exist and had words with a "hater" who accused her of having a "lavish lifestyle for a pastor's wife."
"Sa pagsagot, 'pag may time ako, sasagutin ko. 'Pag feeling ko, gusto kong sagutin dahil maganda 'yung pagtanong or makakapagbigay ng liwanag sa iba pang tao, sasagutin ko siya," she said in the podcast.
"'Pag malaki, sobrang laki, na parang feeling ko kailangan talaga ng official statement, [sasagutin ko]. Wala ako talagang rubric[,] by feel lang siya lahat na 'ito," she said.
Peralejo noted that she doesn't think about going viral when she speaks out.
"'Di ko rin iniisip na, 'Today, I wake up, I want to get mad at somebody.' But, I guess, because I'm a strongly opinionated person, marami talaga akong masasabi," she explained.
"I'm not afraid to be seen as a certain thing," the TV personality said, noting that it may be because she isn't on screen as much now.
Before she retired from show business, Peralejo starred in films and TV shows, including Umagang Kay Ganda, 100 Days to Heaven, Pangarap na Bituin, Spirit of the Glass, Hari ng Sablay, Caregiver, and Paano Na Kaya.
More than being authentic, Peralejo said that she believes being outspoken helps other people who may feel unheard.
"Marami ako nakukuha ang messages na, thank you for saying that. ''Yung mga things na hindi ko masabi.' 'Pag nakatanggap ako ng ganong message, medyo na na-encourage ako na meron pa rin natutulungan yung mga ibang tao sa pagiging outspoken ko," she said.
In response to the backlash, she said, "I'm just very cool about it, na it really happens. I don't think I am singled out. Maybe I'm popular for it. But who doesn't get bashed these days? [...] I don't take it personally kasi these people have other things to do and they really cannot, even if they want to, focus on me for one month."
She also acknowledges that online users may take what she says online differently from what she meant.
"I accept differences, but what I cannot accept is troll farms and bots na iba na 'to eh. Meron ng agenda dito. Hindi na siya simpleng nag-air ka lang ng opinion mo against another person or [idea]," she added.
The Generations Podcast is now available on Spotify and YouTube, executive produced by Sheila Paras of PhilSTAR L!fe and Roby Alampay of PumaPodcast. Listen to its sixth episode with Rica Peralejo below, where she talks to L!fe’s Angel Martinez (Gen Z) and PumaPodcast's Jaemark Tordecilla (Xennial) about "patol" culture, the evolution of public discourse, and online criticism.
Learn more about 'patol' culture in this Generations column.
