Lea Salonga clarifies viral one-liner FB post: 'I never, not ever, cursed the Philippines'

After trending on Twitter following her controversial one-liner post, Lea Salonga clarified on Monday that she never cursed the Philippines.

Last week, the music icon expressed her thoughts on the current issues amid the pandemic, which caught the attention of netizens.

"Dear Pilipinas, p******ina, ang hirap mong mahalin," Lea said in a now-deleted Facebook post.

On Twitter Monday, Lea said she still stands by every single word she wrote as an expression of her frustration with the events happening in the country.

However, she clarified, "contrary to what some of you might believe, I never, NOT EVER, cursed the Philippines."

Hi, gang. It seems a recent Facebook post of mine has gotten quite a bit of attention and launched all sorts of... I don’t even know what word to use, so I thought to use this platform and this space to offer some clarification in the hope that I’m more clearly understood. 1/

— Lea Salonga (@MsLeaSalonga) June 22, 2020

In fact, Lea said she is proud to be a representation of a Filipino.

"To serve her is one of my greatest honors. To be able to hold my head up high and say, 'Yes, I am Filipino' representing the hundreds of millions of brethren both here at home and all over the world is a source of pride and pleasure," she tweeted.

Lea continued and said the "P" word was not directed to anyone or anything but it was just a mere expression.

"So, to further clarify, I didn't say p- i- mo, or p- i- ka. If that was what I meant, I would've been explicit in my expression. My p- i- was aimed at no one in particular, and was used only as an outburst, a cry," she wrote.

"My apologies if I hurt your feelings with my choice of words," she added.

Lea said if netizens still decide to cuss her out after her tweets of clarification she said, "you’re well within your right to do so."

"I totally understand and get that you're doing it as one tasked to protect our country from anyone that dares to desecrate it," she said.

She stressed that cursing the country was not her intent.

Lea ended her string of tweets by thanking those who supported her.

"To my fans and friends that have my back, you have no idea the amount of appreciation I hold in my heart for your tireless efforts to explain my side of things. Thank you so much. You will always have my gratitude."

Lea widely expressed her opinions and stance on current affairs happening in the Philippines including the controversial Anti-Terror Bill and the #HijaAko movement which was started by Frankie Pangilinan. —Jannielyn Bigtas/MGP, GMA News