The Philippine government has defended its appointment of 27-year-old Zofia Canlas as a commissioner of the Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor, after a public backlash over her qualifications, connections and lifestyle, the South China Morning Post reports.
Canlas took her oath on Monday. Critics online circulated social media photos of her on trips around Europe and the United States, prompting accusations that she was a so-called nepo baby. She graduated in medical biology in 2024, stood unsuccessfully as a party-list nominee in the 2025 midterm elections and became the commission's chief of staff in July last year.
Her father, Jose Marcell Canlas, is reported to be an assistant secretary in the Office of the Executive Secretary. The commission works on behalf of the country's urban poor.
Source: South China Morning Post
