‘Late is late:’ Heart Evangelista’s stance on tardiness sparks debate on privilege

She argued that workers should account for traffic by leaving home earlier, adding, “Kung magbibigay ka sa akin ng lousy excuse na ‘hindi ako nakatulog,’ ‘nagising ako na ganyan’… bakit ka pa nagtrabaho?”

Still, Evangelista acknowledged that circumstances and a person’s track record should matter.

“Kung never naman talaga siya na-late tapos nagkaroon ng emergency… ‘okay, you’re excused’,” she said. But for repeated tardiness, she remained firm, “If you’re going to give me a lousy excuse na ‘traffic,’ huwag na tayo magtrabaho.”

Her comments drew criticism from commuters who argued that punctuality is not equally attainable for everyone.

“Try mo kaya dumaan sa baha, makipagsiksikan sa MRT/LRT, sumabit sa jeepney. Saka mo kami balikan,” one netizen wrote.

Another pointed out that some workers wake up as early as 3 a.m. to catch public transportation yet still arrive late because of overcrowding and limited transit options.

A commenter also questioned whether Evangelista’s experience reflects the reality of workers commuting from areas such as Fairview or Rizal to Makati without private transportation.

Others defended her principle, arguing that being on time is fundamentally about respecting other people’s schedules. One netizen, however, offered a middle ground, “Pinas setting is a different scenario… We can have some empathy on how we say and see it.”

The backlash ultimately shifted the conversation from whether being late is acceptable to whether punctuality can be demanded without acknowledging the unequal realities of getting to work in the Philippines.

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