Ben&Ben percussionist Andrew De Pano has opened up about the "uy tumaba ka" culture in the Philippines.

On Friday (05/31), De Pano wrote a thread on Twitter in hopes of uplifting those who "[work] hard to better themselves," after a fan made a comment regarding his weight on an Instagram post.

While De Pano says that he doesn't usually get offended by comments revolving around his weight, he writes that he hopes that "soon enough, we grow into a generation of Filipinos who don't use each other's weights as a topic of conversation." In his statement, De Pano adds that we should all just talk about things that would uplift each other.

Disclaimer 1: Di ako usually offended sa mga comments on weight kasi sanay naman ako sa other friends and family tuwing may gathering.

Disclaimer 2: Sa nag comment nito sakin, ok lang naman talaga hehe. No harm meant naman siguro so I'm not mad at all.

So yun, pag-usapan natin. pic.twitter.com/u0mC3NA67T

— Andrew De Pano (@andrewdepano) May 31, 2019

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Read De Pano's full statement below.

Disclaimer 1: Di ako usually offended sa mga comments on weight kasi sanay naman ako sa other friends and family tuwing may gathering.

Disclaimer 2: Sa nag comment nito sakin, ok lang naman talaga hehe. No harm meant naman siguro so I'm not mad at all. So yun, pag-usapan natin.

2019 na fam. Alam ko common sa Pinoy culture yung "uy tumaba ka" for reasons na di ko pa talaga gets. Kung concerned ka man sa health ko, nice, ty. Pero there are better ways to say it, or just don't. Sabi nga ni Thumper, "if u can't say something nice, don't say nothin' at all"

Alam ko naman na getting into this industry, magiging mas public kami na tao. This meant sacrificing a lot of privacy and opening up our lives to public scrutiny. Pero dahil din nabigyan kami ng ganitong exposure and ganitong platform to talk about things, susulitin ko na rin.

First of all, wag na wag niyong kakalimutan na first and foremost, mga tao rin kami na may kanya-kanyang pinagdadaanang struggles. Some we choose to share openly with you, some we'd rather hope to keep private. I don't think there's anything wrong with wanting that man lang.

Aware ako na malaki akong tao. Matagal na, tbh. This February I finally decided to do something about it. I started dieting and eating healthier para mas magagawa ko yung trabaho ko, of entertaining you, a lot more manageable. Nakakapagod siya, physically taxing. Pero masaya.

Sobrang happy ko sa progress ko. I've lost at least 10kg from when I started, and I fit in more clothes I want to wear. Kaya kahit ayoko man ma-offend sa comments na ganito, masakit talaga isipin at marinig mula sa iba na hindi pa rin sapat yung effort, at mukhang tumaba pa ako.

I speak on behalf of everyone who's working hard to better themselves. If you don't have anything nice to say, please keep your comments to yourself. Never mo malalaman o maiintindihan yung mga pinagdadaanan ng isang tao so please, let's just take care of each other and be kind.

Yun lang. I just hope soon enough, we grow into a generation of Filipinos who don't use each other's weights as a topic of conversation. Kasi 'di talaga siya cute eh. Pag-usapan nalang natin yung mga bagay na mas nakaka uplift sa isa't-isa. I don't think that's too much to ask.

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