Janina Vela

Janina Vela
Born	(1999-04-12) April 12, 1999 (age 26)
Occupation	Influencer
YouTube information
Channel	Janina Vela
Years active	2013–2022
Subscribers	707 thousand
Views	55.2 million

Janina Mercado Punzalan (born April 12, 1999^{[ citation needed ]}), is a Filipina influencer. ^{[1] [2] [3]}

Early life

She was born on April 12, 1999, in Manila, Philippines.^{[ citation needed ]}

Coming from a family of involved in the traditional entertainment industry, Vela aspired to be an actress at first but at age 15, decided to become an online influencer instead. ^[4]

Career

On March 2, 2013, she launched her channel on YouTube amassing over 700,000 subscribers. Her content included topics such as beauty and vlogging, but later shifted to socio-political content. She also launched a podcast called "Trendsetter" that talked about pop culture. Her channel has been inactive since 2022, after posting an educational video about the People Power Revolution. Vela has since spoken up about how this decision caused backlash towards her. ^[5]

Vela made her acting debut in the 2019 film Kaibigan playing Kylie Ver. She also had a role in the follow-up series, GMA Network's Kaibigan: The Series, where she portrayed Kylie Kino a vlogger who started her career during the lockdowns of the COVID-19 pandemic. ^[6]

Personal life

She was born, as Janina Mercado Punzalan, to Jennifer Mercado and Paolo Punzalan, son of Helen Vela and Orly Punzalan.

Vela is a social advocate collaborating with organizations such as World Vision and We the Youth Vote. ^[7]

Filmography

Film roles

Year	Title	Role
2019	Kaibigan	Kylie Ver

Television roles

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2020	Kaibigan: The Series	Kylie Kino	4 episodes

References

1. Coyuito, Mae (December 3, 2021). "Janina Vela: The socio-political trendsetter". Philstar Life. Retrieved December 13, 2024.
2. "Leaders of the New Cool: Janina Vela". Lifestyle.INQ. August 19, 2018. Retrieved December 13, 2024.
3. Yang, Angelica (March 6, 2017). "5 tips from Pinay YouTubers on creating a successful channel". GMA News Online. Retrieved December 13, 2024.
4. Interaksyon (November 2, 2017). "Janina Vela shares what she learned from grandmother Helen Vela". InterAksyon. Retrieved December 13, 2024.
5. Coyiuto, Mae (December 3, 2021). "Janina Vela: The socio-political trendsetter". Philstar Life. Retrieved November 1, 2025.
6. "Find love, hope, and faith in 'Kaibigan: The Series' on GMA-7". GMA News. December 4, 2020. Retrieved December 13, 2024.
7. Cruz, Jemima (January 19, 2023). "Power of Influence: Janina Vela Carves Her Legacy as a Social Advocate". MEGA Asia. Retrieved November 2, 2025.

External links

• Janina Vela at IMDb