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5 Kapamilya teleseryes that embody women empowerment

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Mary Ann Bardinas

<p>March 8 is International Women’s Day, or the global celebration of the achievements and contributions of women in all aspects of society, may it be economic, cultural, social, and political. At the same time, it is also when we reiterate our calls for the discrimination, inequalities, and stereotypes against women be abolished, as well as to further empower one another as we pursue our endeavors.</p><p>As we join the world in paying homage to all women, here are five Kapamilya teleseryes that portray the evolution of female spirit and champion women empowerment through their interestingly relatable narratives and femme fatale lead characters.</p><div> </div><p><strong>Huwag Ka Lang Mawawala</strong> (2013)</p><div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="502" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2kB8XxEZHRA" title="Full Episode 50 | Huwag Ka Lang Mawawala" width="893"></iframe></div><p>Introduced as an advocacy series that promotes “women empowerment,” <em><strong>Huwag Ka Lang Mawawala</strong></em> follows the story of Anessa Panaligan, impeccably portrayed by Queen of Philippine Soap Opera Judy Ann Santos, a strong and independent woman who would do everything for the sake of her beloved family. However, her strength got tested when she married the rich bachelor Eros Diomedes (Sam Milby), who, instead of filling her life with love and care, turned it into a nightmare as she fell victim of domestic violence and infidelity. He even attempted to murder her and hide their son from her, which further ignited her determination to take back what she knew was rightfully hers.</p><p>With the help of kind people, Anessa was able to come back stronger and braver, allowing her to gain the inner strength she needed in order to face Eros, his mistress Alexis (KC Concepcion), his family, and his other accomplices. After the bad and traumatic things that happened to, she was still able to find it in her heart to forgive those who crossed her and move forward in life. Her experiences taught her how important it is to fully love oneself first before you can share it to other people.</p><div> </div><p><strong>Wildflower</strong> (2017)</p><div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="502" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/zw0Kb88QVXc" title="[ENG SUB] Ep 256 | Wildflower | Maja Salvador, Tirso Cruz III, Aiko Melendez" width="893"></iframe></div><p>One of the most iconic series ever produced by ABS-CBN, <a href="https://ent.abs-cbn.com/wildflower" target="_blank"><em><strong><u>Wildflower</u></strong></em></a> tells the story of Lily Cruz (Maja Salvador), who assumed the name Ivy Aguas after being adopted by a wealthy woman named Prianka (Pricscilla Meirelles). She trained her to become a strong, independent, and dangerous lady in her pursuit of exacting revenge at the powerful and immoral Ardiente clan. Due to her new identity, stunning splendor, and impressive cleverness, it was easy for her to infiltrate them and execute her schemes by flirting with its “weakest link” Arnaldo (RK Bagatsing).</p><p>The Ardientes eventually realized that she’s an enemy, so they did insane things in order to dispose her, which includes burying her alive in a wooden coffin. She was able to escape death and came back very much keen to exact vengeance, which she started off by reintroducing herself as Lily Cruz in a shimmering gold ensemble to let everyone know that she is indestructible. She succeeded in toppling down the Ardientes through a series of mind-blowing schemes that also encouraged the people of Poblacion Ardiente to speak up for the crimes committed by the evil family against them. They might have tried to escape capture, but Julio (Tirso Cruz III) and Emilia (Aiko Melendez) weren’t able to get away from their respective karma.</p><p>Despite everything that happened, Lily chose to forgive the Ardientes and made amends with the paraplegic Emilia by visiting her in prison and giving her a present for her birthday. She also managed to win the presidential elections due to her amazing track record as a governor, with rebuilding Poblacion Ardiente as her main achievement. Apart from being able to attain justice for her family and conquer the struggles she faced, she also triumphed in inspiring other people and in being of service to them genuinely.</p><div> </div><p><strong>La Vida Lena</strong> (2020)</p><div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="502" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/T96ZjU7TPZM" title="" Episode="" La="" Vida="" Lena="" Trending="" width="893"></iframe></div><p>Those who have experienced bullying in their life, especially because of their physical appearance and socioeconomic status, were surely able to relate with the story of titular character Magdalena Mendoza, astoundingly portrayed by Erich Gonzales. And she indeed inspired us to stand up for ourselves and not let bashers drag us down, as well as taught us that exacting revenge could be okay sometimes, especially if you’re able to do it in a classy way (kidding!).</p><p>Due to the big scar on her face, Magda had been the subject of bullying and discrimination, spearheaded by her stiffest rival Rachel Suarez (Sofia Andres), who is the daughter of one of the influential families in their town of Salvacion. However, Magda refused to allow snide remarks get the best of her and simply focused on working hard in order to attain her dreams for her family. Using her experimenting skills and knowledge in chemistry, she was able to formulate a beauty soap that quickly gained popularity among her townsfolks.</p><p>The Narciso family, the owners of Royal Wellness, the biggest surgical and cosmetic company in the country attempted to buy the formula from her, but she declined due to their irreconcilable views. Thus, they resorted on immoral schemes to ruin her life. This triggered her determination to take revenge against them by coming back with a new face that captured Adrian (JC de Vera), the handsome scion of the Narcisos, making it easy for her to execute her plans.</p><div> </div><p><strong>The Broken Marriage Vow</strong> (2022)</p><div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="502" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/K9cbbhm2oVQ" title="Jill discovers David" s="" affair="" with="" help="" The="" Broken="" Marriage="" Vow="" width="893"></iframe></div><p>Many of us might already have an idea of how the story of <a href="https://ent.abs-cbn.com/tbmv2022" target="_blank"><em><strong><u>The Broken Marriage Vow</u></strong></em></a> would unravel, but we still caught ourselves getting excited to see its every episode. But aside from the impeccable performances of the cast, especially of Jodi Sta. Maria as the lead female protagonist Dra. Jill Ilustre, it was its resounding message of strength in facing problems and resilience after being cheated on by her husband and ending their marriage that remained in us even after the series.</p><p>Besides, Jill is also a great proof of how versatile a woman can be as we have the capacity to play various roles and definitely slay it. Apart from being a hands-on mom and wife to her family, she is also an accomplished doctor and professor, not to mention that she’s one of the top administrators of the hospital where she worked in and of the only medical school in Baguio City.</p><p>While she might have gotten a bit insane as she tried to retaliate against her husband and mistress Lexy (Sue Ramirez), but in the end, we admired how she didn’t just fight for their child, but for her courage as well in forgiving those who did her wrong. </p><div> </div><p><strong>Mars Ravelo’s Darna</strong> (2022)</p><div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="502" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/VggitwEVNgw" title="The whole Nueva Esperanza discovers that Regina is Valentina | Darna Recap" width="893"></iframe></div><p>Sealing off this list is <a href="https://ent.abs-cbn.com/darna" target="_blank"><em><strong><u>Mars Ravelo’s Darna</u></strong></em></a>, which totally embodied women empowerment, initially for having two strong ladies as its frontrunners – Narda and Darna as portrayed by Jane de Leon and Regina and Valentina as played by Janella Salvador. They might be from the opposite sides of the spectrum and have different manners of using their powers both in their human and hero/anti-hero forms, but we cannot discount the fact that both of them were powerful in their own ways as they fight for what they believe in was right. Epitome of femme fatale, indeed!</p><p>But being our country’s iconic fictional heroine, we were, of course, rooting more for Narda and Darna, who inspire us to courageously face every challenge that would come our way and believe in ourselves that we can do it. Besides, she also proved that not all women are damsels in distress because we can definitely save and fight for ourselves, and be a heroine to others.</p>

Let’s celebrate Women’s Month by looking back on how these five teleseryes highlighted the power of the female spirit through its inspiring femme fatale lead characters. 