''May Bukas Pa'' () is a Philippine drama television series produced by

Dreamscape Entertainment Dreamscape Entertainment is a Philippine television production company and entertainment division of ABS-CBN Corporation. It is one of the media conglomerate's television production units that supplies telenovelas for the flagship television n ...

and directed by Jerome Chavez Pobocan, Jojo A. Saguin, and Erick C. Salud. The series features an

ensemble cast In a dramatic production, an ensemble cast is one that is composed of multiple principal actors and performers who are typically assigned roughly equal amounts of screen time.Random House: ensemble acting Linked 2013-07-17 Structure In contrast to ...

consisting of

Zaijian Jaranilla Zaijian Godsick Lara Jaranilla (born August 23, 2001) is a Filipino actor and dancer who is best known for his role as the orphan Santino in the 2009–2010 religious-themed teleserye, '' May Bukas Pa''. Zaijian was also a cast member in the chi ...

Albert Martinez Alberto Pineda Martinez (born April 19, 1961), is a Filipino actor, director and producer. Early life He was born in Manila on April 19, 1961 to Bert Martinez, and Margarita Pineda. Career Martinez began as a film actor. He took his first te ...

Dina Bonnevie Geraldine Schaer Bonnevie-Savellano (, formerly Sotto and Penson; January 27, 1961), known by her stage name Dina Bonnevie, is an actress in the Philippines. Before joining Philippine showbiz, Bonnevie was first runner-up in the Miss Magnolia 19 ...

Tonton Gutierrez Eduardo Antonio Winsett Gutierrez, Jr. (born March 20, 1968), professionally known as Tonton Gutierrez, is a Filipino film and television actor best known for his role as Governor Eduardo Buenavista in the original hit teleserye ''Pangako Sa ...

Maja Salvador Maja Ross Andres Salvador-Ortega (; born October 5, 1988) is a Filipino actress, performer, television host, occasional producer, and talent manager. Referred to as the “Majestic Superstar”and the "''Queen of Revenge Drama''", Salvador is ...

Rayver Cruz Raymond Oliver Cruz Ilustre (born July 20, 1989), better known by his screen name Rayver Cruz (), is a Filipino actor, dancer, singer, and host. He is the younger brother of fellow actor and dancer Rodjun Cruz. Personal life Rayver is a membe ...

Dominic Ochoa Jose Madrigal Ochoa (; born August 4, 1974), better known as Dominic Ochoa, is a Filipino actor, comedian, model and member of ABS-CBN's circle of homegrown talents named Star Magic, as part of the batch 4. He is currently managed by Boy Ab ...

Desiree del Valle Desirée Lois del Valle Dunham-Labrusca (born May 28, 1982), better known by her screen name Desiree del Valle, is a Filipina actress born from an Irish American father named Clois H. Dunham and a Filipino mother Lourdes del Valle from Lopez, ...

Precious Lara Quigaman Precious Lara San Agustin Quigaman-Alcaraz (; born 3 January 1983) is a Filipino actress, multi-product endorser and beauty queen who won the Miss International 2005 beauty pageant held in Tokyo, Japan. She is the fourth Filipino to have won t ...

Lito Pimentel Joselito Pimentel (born May 27, 1963 in General Tinio, Nueva Ecija Province), known professionally as Lito Pimentel, is a Filipino film and television actor in the Philippines. His uncle is the late game show host Pepe Pimentel. Early life an ...

, and

Jaime Fabregas Jaime Francisco García Fábregas (; born February 28, 1950) is a Filipino actor and musical scorer. Early life Jaime Francisco García Fábregas was born in Iriga City, Camarines Sur, Philippines to his parents Pedro Fábregas and Isabel Garc ...

. The series aired on

ABS-CBN ABS-CBN (an initialism of its two predecessors' names, Alto Broadcasting System and Chronicle Broadcasting Network) is a Television in the Philippines, Philippine Commercial broadcasting, commercial broadcast broadcast network, network tha ...

's ''Primetime Bida'' block from February 2, 2009, to February 5, 2010, replacing ''

Eva Fonda ''Eva Fonda'' is a Philippine drama show on ABS-CBN that aired from December 1, 2008 to January 30, 2009 replacing ''Kahit Isang Saglit'' and was replaced by ''May Bukas Pa (2009 TV series), May Bukas Pa''. ''Eva Fonda'' is a remake of a 1976 fil ...

'' and was replaced by ''

Agua Bendita ''Agua Bendita'' () is a 2010 Philippine romantic fantasy religious-drama television series based on the Liwayway Komiks comic book series of the same name created by Rod Santiago and directed by Malu L. Sevilla, Claudio "Tots" Sanchez-Mariscal ...

''. The series was the highest rated program on Philippine television for both 2009 and 2010 according to Kantar Media Philippines.

Series overview

Plot

The story revolves around Santino (

), a wide-eyed young boy who orphaned as a baby before being adopted and raised well by

Franciscans , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...

. Living in the fictional town of Barangay Bagong Pag-asa, he eventually discovers the ability to see and speak with

Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

, whom he fondly called “Bro”. He also gains the ability to miraculously heal the sick. With these special abilities, Santino goes out to help other people with their problems and make a difference in their lives.

Cast and characters

Main cast

as Santino Guillermo/Gabriel M. Policarpio/Rodrigo *

as Mayor Enrique D. Rodrigo/Gonzalvo Policarpio† *

Jairus Aquino Jairus Reuel Balagtas Aquino (, born April 1, 1999) is a Filipino actor best known for his roles in ''Super Inggo'', ''Kung Fu Kids'' and ''Luv U''. He appeared in several television advertisements before his first television appearance as an ...

as young Enrique Rodrigo/Gonzalvo Policarpio *

as Malena Rodriguez-Rodrigo/Policarpio† *

as Criselda "Sélda" Rodriguez-Sta. Maria *

as Mario Sta. Maria *

as Stella R. Sta. Maria *

as Francisco "Cocoy" Bautista *

as Clautilde Katerina "Tilde" Magdayo-Rodrigo/Policarpio

Spiritual characters

*Love Thadani (uncredited) as

*Uncredited voice actor as

Satan Satan,, ; grc, ὁ σατανᾶς or , ; ar, شيطانالخَنَّاس , also known as Devil in Christianity, the Devil, and sometimes also called Lucifer in Christianity, is an non-physical entity, entity in the Abrahamic religions ...

Charo Santos-Concio María Rosario Navarro Santos-Concio (born October 27, 1955), popularly known as Charo Santos-Concio or simply Charo Santos (), is a Filipino people, Filipino media executive and actress. She is the host of ''Maalaala Mo Kaya'', the longest-runni ...

Mother Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...

The Priests

as Fr. Anthony Ruiz *

as Fr. José dela Cruz *

as Fr. Gregorio "Ringo" Samonte and

Rodjun Cruz Rodolfo Othello Cruz Ilustre, Jr. (born October 10, 1987), known professionally as Rodjun Cruz (), is a Filipino actor, dancer and singer. He is the brother of fellow actor and dancer Rayver Cruz. Biography Cruz started as a host, together wit ...

as young Gregorio "Ringo" Samonte *Badjie Mortiz as Fr. Paul Makopa *David Chua as Fr. Chino "Chi" Wang *Andre Tiangco as Fr. George *Ruben Gonzaga as Fr. Patrick *Edgar Sandalo as Fr. Jude

Supporting cast

Ogie Diaz Roger Diaz Pandaan (born January 2, 1970), known professionally as Ogie Diaz (), is a Filipino comedian, actor, entertainment reporter, and talent manager. He is popularly known as "''Pekto''", the name of his character in the long-running forme ...

as Renato "Atong" Arguelles *Arlene Muhlach as Viviana "Baby" Arguelles *Timothy Chan as Rico R. Rodrigo/Policarpio *Phoebe Khae Arbotante as Joy R. Sta. Maria *

Victor Basa Victor Emmanuel Basa (born June 6, 1985) is a Philippines, Filipino model, actor, radio V.J., television host and former ex-housemate of ''Pinoy Big Brother: Celebrity Edition 2''. Victor is the middle child of three, with a younger brother an ...

as Fr. John Delgado

Additional cast

Francis Magundayao Francis Elmer Cabalteja Magundayao (born May 14, 1999) is a Filipino actor and commercial model. He was first known as Iking in the series, ''Darna''. He is also known for portraying young Travis (adult version portrayed by Gerald Anderson) in ...

as Paco *Miguelito de Guzman as Alfred *

Liza Lorena Elizabeth Ann Jolene Luciano Winsett (born October 31, 1949), known professionally as Liza Lorena, is a Philippine actress. She was a First Runner-Up in the Bb. Pilipinas pageant in 1966. Career Lorena was a flight stewardess (for PAL domestic ...

as Doña Anita Rodriguez *Michael Conan as Dante Maoricio *Ron Morales as Robert Sanchez/ Gustavo Policarpio *Jerry O'Hara as Senior Superintendent Raul Guevarra *Rosalie, Kimberly, and Jennifer as fictitious versions of themselves *Erin Panlilio as Grace

Guest Cast

Production

The series was announced on January 9, 2009, under the working title "Marcelino" before changing to its final title "May Bukas Pa" as

's first offering for 2009 where story conference for the series was done, with taping and production of the series made from January 15, 2009, to February 5, 2010. Most of the scenes are taped in San Guillermo Parish Church in Barangay Cabambangan & Municipal Hall of Bacolor in Barangay Calibutbut of the fourth class

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

Bacolor, Pampanga Bacolor, officially the Municipality of Bacolor ( pam, Balen ning Bakúlud; tgl, Bayan ng Bacolor), is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Pampanga, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 48,066 people. Bac ...

. In 2009,

took a break from the show for three months in order to focus on '' Nagsimula sa Puso''. At the same time, she and

had announced that they have joined their new show ''

Precious Hearts Romances Presents ''Precious Hearts Romances Presents'' is a 5-day Philippine program broadcast on ABS-CBN. It mainly focuses on adaptations of the best selling paperbacks distributed by company holder ''Precious Hearts Romances''. Its first run was from May 4, ...

Impostor An impostor (also spelled imposter) is a person who pretends to be somebody else, often through means of disguise. Their objective is usually to try to gain financial or social advantages through social engineering, but also often for purposes ...

'' which came out in 2010.

Marketing

Music

Theme song

The theme song of the religious drama with the same title was originally performed by

Rico J. Puno Enrico de Jesus Puno (; February 13, 1953 – October 30, 2018), better known as Rico J. Puno (), was a Filipino singer, television host, actor, comedian and politician. He was considered as a music icon in the Philippines. He started the tren ...

. The first version is sung by Kyle Balili and the second version is sung by

Erik Santos Rhoderick Ramos Santos (born October 10, 1982), more commonly known as Erik Santos, is a Filipino singer, actor, TV host, commercial model, and the first Grand Champion of the ABS-CBN singing competition '' Star in a Million Season 1'' in 2003 ...

Soundtrack

ABS-CBN Christmas ID

's Christmas 2009 campaign was inspired by the show's popularity. The song is entitled " Star ng Pasko" (). Christmas lanterns were specially created by ABS-CBN that are sold to benefit ABS-CBN foundation's charity programs. ABS-CBN launched ''Parol ni Bro'' November 4, 2009, where an 18-foot Christmas lantern on the top of ABS-CBN building was lit up by the May Bukas Pa cast, ABS-CBN president

, and ABS-CBN chairman and CEO

Eugenio Lopez III Eugenio Gabriel "Gabby" Lopez III (born August 13, 1952) is a Filipino-American businessman who was the CEO (1993–2013), chairman (1997–2018) and chairman emeritus (2018–2020) of ABS-CBN Corporation, the largest entertainment and media co ...

. It was later used for the network's 2010 and 2019 Christmas Station IDs "Ngayong Pasko Magniningning Ang Pilipino" () and "Family is Forever". It also has musical similarities with the 2002, 2004, 2007, 2010, 2017, and 2020 Christmas Station IDs "Isang Pamilya, Isang Puso, Ngayong Pasko", "Sabay Tayo, Kapamilya", "Walang Mag-iisa Ngayong Pasko", "Ngayong Pasko Magniningning Ang Pilipino", "Just Love Ngayong Christmas", and "Ikaw ang Liwanag at Ligaya". GMA also had its 2019 Christmas Station ID "Love Shines" having scenes patterned after the 2009 ID.

Reception

Due to the show's ratings,

's management has decided to extend it for 20 weeks instead of the initial eight weeks. On June 23, 2009, ABS-CBN television head Cory Vidanes announced that the show would be extended until February 2010. ''May Bukas Pa'' became the first primetime TV series in the Philippines to have lasted at least a full year and end in the 2010s decade, peaking during its finale with 47.3% nationwide rating according to Kantar Media/TNS. It currently stands as the country's highest-rated show of all time since Philippine television switched to nationwide TV ratings system in the opening day of 2009.

Critical reception

Entertainment columnist Nestor Torre of the

Philippine Daily Inquirer The ''Philippine Daily Inquirer'' (''PDI''), or simply the ''Inquirer'', is an English-language newspaper in the Philippines. Founded in 1985, it is often regarded as the Philippines' newspaper of record. The newspaper is the most awarded bro ...

said "It must have been a big decision for the new show’s producers to get away from that downbeat view of life and come up with this ''Marcelino Pan Y Vino''-inspired tale. But it’s great to note that the gamble has paid off in a big way: ''May Bukas Pa'' has been enjoying very good ratings, proving what we’ve been saying all this time--that viewers want to be inspired by the dramas they watch." However, he criticized the show's "religious" scenes which are "poorly, shallowly staged, thus making genuine inspiration and devotion difficult to come by while viewing the series." He further criticized the show's use of extras mostly playing sick people, who turn out to be bad actors. He adds, "Any director worth his salt would have sensed that the montage of healing needed good actors to make it meaningful and moving. Why were inept actors used instead? Possibly because the production was scrimping on talent fees. Well, it was a penny-wise pound-foolish decision, because the important sequence was botched."

Accolades

May Bukas Pa also received an award at the 2009 Catholic Mass Media Awards (besides its Best Drama award), given by Cardinal Archbishop

Gaudencio Rosales Gaudencio Borbón Rosales (born August 10, 1932) is a Roman Catholic Cardinal who was Archbishop of Manila, succeeding Jaime Sin in 2003, and succeeded by Luis Antonio Tagle in 2011. Being the Metropolitan of the ecclesiastical province of ...

. The award was received by lead star Zaijian Jaranilla and the supporting actors who play priests (who also wore cassocks for the occasion).ABS-CBN wins big at 31st CMMAs
--- from ABS-CBN News Online Anak TV Seal Awards Most Admired Program, Zaijian Jaranilla as Male Makabata Awardee.

In other media

On May 22, 2011, ABS-CBN aired a documentary entitled ''Banál'' (Tagalog for "holy") on the occasion of the

beatification Beatification (from Latin ''beatus'', "blessed" and ''facere'', "to make”) is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their nam ...

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

. Zaijian Jaranilla and Jaime Fabregas reprised their roles as Santíno and Father Anthony as they present the life of John Paul II and his significance for Filipinos.

References

External links

''May Bukas Pa''
ABS-CBN {{ABS-CBN Franchised Formats 2000s children's television series 2010s children's television series 2009 Philippine television series debuts 2010 Philippine television series endings ABS-CBN drama series Atheism in television Fiction about God Filipino-language television shows Portrayals of Jesus on television Christian children's television series Television shows about Catholicism Television series by Dreamscape Entertainment Television Television shows filmed in the Philippines