Do we like Moira Dela Torre?
Our score: 7 out of 10. Nothing harmful turned up and she owned up to hurting people, but one contested gig and a messy public fallout keep her short of a nine.
Moira grew up in a musical, churchy family: her mother is a worship leader and her father is a pastor. She got noticed on The Voice of the Philippines with a blind audition of Hallelujah, didn't win, then broke through with Himig Handog and the album Malaya. Her catalogue has since passed two billion Spotify streams.
The goss right now is a friendship fallout. At a September press conference she said she didn't cause a run of unfollows from showbiz friends, and told reporters “I didn't backstab anyone.” She also owned that she may have hurt people while going through a hard time (“Kasalanan ko po”). Sam Milby has said they're no longer friends, but he rejected the claim she was involved in his split.
Back in 2023, songwriter Lolito Go posted a long Facebook rant accusing her of hiring a ghostwriter and cheating on her ex-husband. She denied both, said she had receipts, and her management and friends backed her. Jason Hernandez had himself said in 2022 that he'd been unfaithful, and no court has ruled on any of it. Treat it as an alleged, denied, unresolved stoush.
On the harm test, honestly, the record is thin. Searches turned up nothing from her on LGBTQ+ people, trans rights, vaccines or climate, and nothing platforming anyone dodgy. The one blot is Marcos Fest in 2018: she said she didn't know it was a Marcos birthday celebration, while Ilocos Norte's tourism head said she knew the event name. Her management called the gig non-political, and where you land depends on whether you read it as naivety or a shrug.
The latest news is more logistics than scandal. Promoter Ovation Productions said her first solo concert, Where It All Started, set for 4 October at the Mall of Asia Arena, is postponed to 2027. No reason was given and a new date hasn't been announced. Ticket holders can request refunds through Ticketmaster.
On the good side, she was handed the first-ever Hitmaker award at Billboard Philippines' inaugural Women in Music event in 2024. Fans clearly love her songwriting. Charity detail in the pages we could open was light, so we won't oversell it, and she hasn't been caught using her platform for harm.