A week after her controversial In My Opinion interview with Mo Twister was uploaded on Youtube, Quezon City councilor candidate Ara Mina reacts to the backlash that followed the mass-forwarded video in a PEP.ph exclusive published on February 10.
Calling the video a "viral campaign against [her]," she said, "I will not claim and I have never claimed that I know everything about national issues. Kung ang tanong is that may alam ba ako? Oo. But in an interview na rapid fire ang pagtatanong, siyempre nag-iisip pa ako, bumabalanse at nag-a-assess kung ano [ang] implication ng sagot ko. (Do I know about these issues? Yes. But in an interview with rapid-fire questioning, of course I'm still thinking about my answers and assessing what their implications might be.)"
She stood her ground on her pro-private armies stance. "Realistically po, kaya ba natin maalis ang private armies? Even dito sa bagong commission na tinatag nila, tingin mo po mawawala yung mga politiko o tao na natatakot ma-ambush o mapatay? Hindi. (Realistically, can we eradicate private armies? Even with the new commission against private armies, politicians are still afraid of being ambushed and killed.)"
The sexy actress also reiterated that she is against pre-marital sex. "Maraming kabataan na ang nakatingin sa akin ngayon, who will follow my example, who will take my answer seriously. Tama bang sabihin ko na yes, I am for pre-marital sex? Hindi. Kalat na kalat ngayon ang issue ng pagdami ng may HIV at AIDS na kabataan tapos sasagot ako na parang kino-condone ko pa? (There are a lot of teenagers who follow my example so it's not right for me to say that I'm for pre-marital sex. The spread of HIV and AIDS among the youth is a big issue right now so why would I condone pre-marital sex?)"
Ara Mina said she hoped Mo asked her about her district so she could have shown what she knew about the district's issues and people.
In an interview with PEP.ph prior to Ara Mina's interview, the brutally honest Mo said, "Why wouldn't I [ask her about national issues]? [She's] running for public office, I'm not asking her about her sex life. I'm asking her about national issues that most politicians would have an opinion on. And I have not even met most of them. Ninety-nine percent of politicians, I think, would have an opinion on Martial Law and Maguindanao, the Reproductive Health Bill, or the Visiting Forces Agreement… [I didn't know] she would not like to talk about that."
Ara Mina said she doesn't want to fight with Mo because it's useless, though she threw some zingers his way: "'Di ba dapat lang, bilang host at ako bilang bisita niya, na alalayan niya ako at hindi lituhin? Bisita ako doon, tama lang na maging gracious o polite siya sa akin. (As a guest on the show that he hosts, isn't it just appropriate for him to assist and not confuse me? I was a guest there; it's only right that he be gracious and polite to me.)"
She claimed that there is "obviously" someone who wants to destroy her image with the edited video highlighting her mistakes. "In the last survey kasi, number one or two ako, kahit sa survey ng kalaban. May mga tao na gagawin lahat para pabagsakin ako. (Even with the surveys commissioned by my rivals, I'm no. 1 or no. 2. There are just people who will do everything to destroy my reputation.)." She said she wished the whole interview was uploaded instead.
For her critics, she said, "Paano kung kayo ang nag-iisip pa lang pero may kasunod nang tanong? Madali humusga, pero paano kung kayo ang nakasalang? God bless pa rin po. (What if you were in my position, with question after question thrown at you? Still, god bless to all of you.)"
"I will continue working hard. I will continue studying more… I will remain humble," Ara Mina said. "We all have off days, we all make mistakes. [Nobody's perfect]."
