BROADCASTER Ramon Tulfo came to the defense of actress and fashion icon Heart Evangelista after lawyer Jesus Falcis criticized so-called “nepo wives,” or women married to politicians, questioning their wealth and spending habits.
Falcis, in a post on X (formerly Twitter) on September 1, claimed that unlike “nepo babies,” marrying a politician was a matter of choice and carried ethical implications. He singled out Evangelista, wife of Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero, noting that she has never been among the country’s top individual taxpayers.
“Parang never ko naalala na Top Individual Taxpayer si Heart,” Falcis wrote. “So I’m back to asking the question — bakit wala sa top taxpayers si Heart Evangelista?”
He further questioned how the actress could afford her luxury lifestyle “unless of course she has a generous husband.”
Tulfo, however, countered that Evangelista has long been financially independent, coming from the prominent Ongpauco family behind the Barrio Fiesta restaurant chain and earning millions on her own as an actress and influencer.
“Heart Evangelista is a billionaire in her own right. She comes from the wealthy Ongpauco clan, and even before she married Chiz, she was already earning oodles and oodles of money,” Tulfo said in his column. “The money she spends is her own, not Chiz’s. I should know; I’m a friend of her uncle Rod Ongpauco.”
He also told critics to back off. “Leave Heart alone. Stop questioning a woman’s success just because she’s married to a powerful man,” Tulfo added.
