Lea Salonga trends on Twitter after posting a controversial one-liner on Facebook

Lea Salonga trended on Philippine Twitter after netizens and fans noticed her taking a stand on the current issues happening in the country amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The music icon on Sunday posted a controversial one-liner on her personal Facebook account, piquing the interest of netizens: "Dear Pilipinas, p******ina, ang hirap mong mahalin," Lea said, which has since garnered over 10,000 tweets as of this writing.

In the comments section of the post, netizens aired out their own sentiments on the current issues of the country, some of which Lea gladly engaged in as well. 

"Criticism of one's government shouldn't be considered an expression of hatred, but one of love and a desire to see the country succeed. I would like to think that in a functioning democracy, this should never be anyone's fear, that their criticism would land them in jail, or worse, a corpse lying on a curb," she eloquently wrote in one of the comments.

In an earlier post, Lea also spoke up against victim-blaming and rape, after Lucban Municipal Police Station warned girls not to wear short clothes to prevent sex crimes.

Reposting motoring journalist James Deakin's diagram explaining "the reasons of rape," Lea said  what a woman wears should never be a reason for her being raped. And, as has been pointed out, it really doesn’t matter what a woman wears. If a rapist wants to do the deed, he will."

Lea continued: "The onus of rape should solely be on the shoulders of the rapist. What a woman happened to be wearing is immaterial. Men, you can always do and be better. And to the adults, we need to raise better men."

Her stance came just as rape and rape culture were hotly discussed on social media. That weekend, Frankie Pangilinan took on TV and radio journalist Ben Tulfo's comments and said "The way anyone dresses should not be deemed as opportunity to sexually assault them." The Megastar's daughter also used the hashtag #HijaAko, which soon trended on Twitter.

Right around the same time, the phrase "I Stand with Lea Salonga" started trending, as well.

A netizen with a Twitter username @feleacity ditched labelling Lea, posted screengrabs of her comments and said "her views can change in a time like yours." is "not a DDS nor a dilawan."

Filipino Human Rights Activist Frank Baraan meanwhile shared a screenshot of some of Lea's past tweets, FB posts, and comments and praised her for voicing her stand on issues.

"Lea was superb in Saigon—Lea was great in Les Miserables. She was perfect as Jasmin—she was stellar as Mulan. But among the roles Lea played—I love her playing HERSELF the best—a world-class singer using her pitch-perfect voice on tone-deaf issues."

On Wednesday, Lea thanked those who have shown support and defended her from those who have criticized her for voicing out her opinions.

"To everyone that has my back, thank you. You have my appreciation. I am very grateful," she wrote.

— Jannielyn Ann Bigtas/LA, GMA News