As a superhero story, Mars Ravelo’s Darna has characters that are made to serve as role models through the battle of good and evil. And by evil, it means not only the ‘Extras’ that spread horror across Nueva Esperanza but includes ‘social and political evils’ that the society needs to fight.

Apart from the main superhero Darna, it also has Regina Vanguardia (Janella Salvador), the town’s hotshot lawyer and vlogger, who uses her platform to shed light upon socio-political matters concerning the entire population of Nueva Esperanza and which also echoes vital issues we face in real life.

In this Kapamilya Toplist, we rounded up 10 of Regina’s ‘woke’ moments that mirror Filipinos’ true sentiments.

In the series, Regina uses her vlogs to criticize Mayor Zaldy Vallesteros (Simon Ibarra)’s incompetence. She articulates her thoughts about Nueva Esperanza’s economic woes rooted in corruption. Her earliest tirade against the mayor insinuates that his poor governance impacts the police force’s inefficiency and that he places his loyalty not on the public but his equally corrupt government officials and friends. “Sino ang pinaglilingkuran mo?” was her feisty question to him.

Environmental problems were likewise inserted in the story, with Mayor Zaldy giving permits to illegal loggers and miners, which Regina lambasted in her vlog.

When a newly constructed government building collapsed after an earthquake, Regina made sharp accusations about Mayor Zaldy granting the use of substandard materials for the said project. The reporter covering the incident then mentioned that Regina was helping victims on the ground together with her rescue team, whereas, the most powerful man in town was missing in action.

We move next to when Regina called Nueva Esperanza “siyudad ng kababalaghan” due to the appearance of supernatural creatures called ‘Extras.’ She then expressed her ire toward lousy government officials, which she considers the real ‘monsters’ in their community, “Pero alam mo kung ano ang mas nakakatakot? Wala pa ring plano ang nasa pwesto.” She dared Mayor Zaldy to act fast instead of relying on superheroes or the Babaeng Lumilipad. “Tama na ang siyesta. Guimising ka sa totoong kalagayan ng siyudad mo,”

In another scene, Regina was all of us demanding assurance and consistent effort from our leaders. She wasn’t impressed by the lack of results from Mayor Zaldy's team.

She criticized the public’s warped beliefs about heroism as they were then glorifying Babaeng Ahas for killing criminals. “Masyado na ba tayong nasasanay sa mga krimen na natutuwa tayo ‘pag may pumapatay sa mga kriminal?” As a lawyer, Regina believes that even criminals have the right to due process, and therefore, no one owns the license to kill them. She addressed Vince aka Clone man (Neil Coleta) in her vlog, trying to convince him to surrender to the police instead of hiding.

As an ordinary citizen, she has every right to demand accountability from those in position. She added, in the last scene, that supernatural characters such as Babaeng Ahas and even Darna (Jane de Leon) herself are nothing but an inconvenience.

Regina is one of Nueva Esperanza’s main champs for being the voice of the voiceless. However, conflict will arise as she discovers the truth about her monstrous alter-ego, Valentina.

Don’t miss an episode of Mars Ravelo’s Darna, weeknights, on Kapamilya Channel, Kapamilya Online Live, and A2Z.