Kapamilya actress Bela Padilla says she and her uncle, senator-turned-actor Robin Padilla, have not crossed paths in three years prior to sharing a call time on set — and that she played no role in bringing him into the primetime series Blood vs Duty.
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Bela addressed the questions she had been fielding daily about Robin’s casting and his political associations, saying the decision to bring him into the show rested entirely with those above her.
“Because of recent events, and since I’m being asked daily, I wish to express my thoughts on the issue surrounding the casting of my uncle in Blood vs Duty, and the current situation hounding the Senate,” she wrote.
The actress said she had joined the project in December, well before her uncle was brought in as a recent addition. She was clear that recommending talent was not within her authority. The casting decision, she said, was “purely the prerogative of the executive and supervising producers of the show.”
On the question of their personal relationship, Bela acknowledged that Robin had been a kind figure in her childhood, but said their lives had moved in separate directions as both their careers developed — his toward politics, hers toward a sustained presence in entertainment and public advocacy.
“But as our careers flourished and took different directions, with him entering politics, our personal encounters have become scarcer. Our ideologies also differed. I do not live close to my uncle. I haven’t seen Tito Robin until we shared the same call time last Friday. Before then, I saw him 3 years ago,” she wrote.
She was equally direct about the ideological distance between them, drawing a firm line between shared blood and shared beliefs.
“We are related, but we manage to agree to disagree. I remain grateful to his kindness, but I also maintain an independent and personal sense of being in charge of my career, choices, and convictions,” Bela said.
Bela has previously used her public platform to call out political figures. Earlier this week, she questioned Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa after he was photographed at the Senate Hall.
