Mika Salamanca: The Power of Starting Over
Once labeled a “red flag,” Mika Salamanca reveals how her journey inside Bahay ni Kuya helped her confront old perceptions, protect her peace, and show the world the real version of herself.
When Mika Salamanca stepped inside the iconic Pinoy Big Brother house, she wasn’t looking to win. She was looking to be understood.
Borgy Angeles
Labeled as the “Controversial Ca-Babe-Len ng Pampanga,” the 24-year-old vlogger-turned-actress carried more than just her suitcase. She brought years’ worth of online scrutiny, a public fall from grace, and the ache of someone who had long been misunderstood. “I was already at the rock bottom of my career to the point that I didn’t know how to explain myself if not through PBB,” she recalls. “Because it’s a reality show. And in reality, I wasn’t a bad person.”
Salamanca, born and raised in Pampanga, first rose to fame as a YouTuber sharing song covers and lifestyle vlogs. By 2025, she had amassed over 4.5 million subscribers and transitioned into acting, appearing in shows like Walang Matigas na Pulis sa Matinik na Misis. She’s also a singer, currently managed by Sparkle GMA Artist Center. But beyond the stats and roles, Salamanca’s journey has always been deeply personal.
In person, Salamanca carries an intensity that draws you in rather than demands attention. Her voice, soft but firm, bears the weight of someone who has had to learn how to speak gently to herself first. It’s raw. Unfiltered. Real. And reality, as it turns out, became her redemption.
Salamanca entered the season as a polarizing figure, one whose past controversies had followed her like a storm cloud. The moment that nearly broke her, she says, was when she received a “red flag” inside the house, a symbolic mark that echoed what she had been called outside. “Outside the house of Kuya, they label me as a red flag. [So] when I received a red flag inside the house of Kuya, I was so scared,” her voice cracks.
But instead of unraveling, Salamanca dug deeper. She learned to anchor herself not in perception, but in presence. “Tinanggap ko na during this time, my ‘present’ is this world,” she recalls of life inside Kuya’s house. There were no phones, no social media, no curated feeds—just the raw weight of being seen in real time. And that, she says, was where the real work began.
“We don’t have any other access or outlet other than each other, so inside the house, we really have to face whatever there is that we can feel,” she says. “You have to sit with your feelings.”
When you’re diagnosed with depression and anxiety, receive a lot of backlash, and enter a fishbowl that is PBB, where every move is documented, it messes with your mental health more than you know. Salamanca didn’t shy away from admitting that to Allure Philippines. Inside the house, she cried. A lot. Almost every day at one point. “Ni-let go ko na lang yung hiya ng pag-iyak,” she admits. “Kaysa naman sa mabaliw ako sa loob ng bahay.”
If wellness is the practice of caring for one’s whole self, then Salamanca’s journey has been just that: a practice. Imperfect, ongoing, brave. She admits that she used to always respond to hate. But one thing she learned from the other half of her duo, Brent Manalo, is to just not deal with hate at all. “The moment you explain yourself once, people will expect you to keep doing it. And when you don’t, they’ll assume it’s true,” she explains. Now, she doesn’t engage. She protects her peace. And perhaps more importantly, she protects her boundaries.
These days, Mika’s version of self-care is quieter. She writes in a journal—something she missed dearly inside the house, where pens and paper were prohibited. She leans on the simple things. And yes, she still sings, sometimes even turning snippets from her journals into lyrics.
But the biggest shift, she says, is internal. “It’s hard to believe,” Salamanca says when asked about what she thinks of the love she’s getting now. But she has come to a realization: If she doubts the love she’s getting now, then she’s also doubting the love her family and friends have always shown her. “So I wanna believe it,” she says confidently.
When she first learned about her moniker that proudly says “controversial,” Salamanca didn’t flinch—she cried. “Sabi ng manager ko, ‘It’s okay, hindi naman talaga ikaw ‘yan. Maybe you’re controversial now, but paglabas mo—” she pauses. “Maybe, maybe, maybe,” she says repeatedly before she continues, “maybe, hindi na.” And true to her manager’s words, she came out without that label attached to her anymore.
Borgy Angeles
The Mika Salamanca we saw inside PBB wasn’t a persona. It wasn’t a performance. It was a woman stripped of filters, laying down her defenses, and learning to trust herself again.
So when she won the title of Big Winner, she also won back her story. “PBB was my plan A, B, C, and D,” she says. “I had nothing to lose.” And with that, she gained back everything—her name, her reputation, and herself.
Production design: Justine Arcega-Bumanlag
Photographer’s assistants: Rojan Maguyon and Pao Mendoza
Makeup: Denise Go-Ochoa
Hair: Renz Pangilinan
Styling: Joy Bernardo and Jolo Bayoneta of StyLIZed Studio, assisted by Jethro Barrietta, Ayi Custodio , Ashley Jamlang, Beatrize Lagco, and Stephanie Satorre
Art direction: Nicole Almero
Beauty direction: Trina Epilepsia Boutain
Writers: Leira Aquino and Lia Cruz
Special thanks to Pinoy Big Brother: Celebrity Collab Edition and Sparkle GMA Artist Center
