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These 7 seasoned stars truly slayed as kontrabidas in Kapamilya teleseryes!

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Mary Ann Bardinas

<p>Aside from the protagonists, villains play crucial roles in every story. They are the ones who are going to add spice and excitement to the journey of the main characters and veer the narrative into twists and turns that may or may not be expected by the audiences. Thus, it really takes a great actor in order to pull off this kind of role, which is called “<em>kontrabida” </em>in the Philippine entertainment scene.</p><p>And in this special feature, we rounded up seven of the seasoned actors who truly slayed their portrayals of anti-heroes in Kapamilya teleseryes through the years.</p><div> </div><p><strong>Jhong Hilario, </strong>Mara Clara (2010)</p><div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/P05A45G-6vY?si=ZpgeMQXK0MeD7a4s" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></div><p>He may be known as a great dancer and talented host of <a href="https://ent.abs-cbn.com/itsshowtime"><strong><u>It’s Showtime</u></strong></a>, but Jhong is also a magnificent actor. Ever since making his debut as an actor in 1996, he has already starred in a slew of series and movies, and is widely known for his antagonist roles in television. Among his most notable performances was in the 2010 remake of the classic soap opera <a href="https://ent.abs-cbn.com/articles-photos/140080317-throwback-mara-clara-2010-14805"><strong><u>Mara Clara</u></strong></a>, wherein he infuriated viewers as the cruel Gary David, the biological dad of Clara (Julia Montes).</p><p>Since he’s not the real father of Mara (Kathryn Bernardo), he never showed her love and was so callous to her, as well as to his wife Susan (Mylene Dizon). Remember when he created a scene at the event of Amante (Bobby Andrews)? He angrily fetched his family upon learning from Clara that Mara was having a little sweet moment with Christian (Albie Casiño).</p><p>Gary was so furious that he assaulted Mara and almost had her long tress chopped as soon as they arrived home. Susan and Lupe (Gina Pareño) tried to stop him but to no avail as he even attacked both of them. His younger brother Karlo (Ping Medina) arrived, yet he was already too late as Gary had Mara knocked after he slapped her so hard that caused her to collapse and hit her head on the floor.</p><div> </div><p><strong>Bangs Garcia</strong>, Kung Ako’y Iiwan Mo (2012)</p><div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/iLJ4r63sK_E?si=JiLOUIV0Yb3ahrZt" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></div><p>From playing supporting roles in the early series and movies that she starred in, Bangs went on to impress us with her portrayal of mature characters in the latter part of her acting career. And one of her noteworthy performances was in the afternoon soap opera <strong>Kung Ako’y Iiwan Mo</strong>, wherein she played Mia Pedroso, the ex-girlfriend-turned-mistress of Paul Raymundo (Jake Cuenca).</p><p>Many years might have passed and Paul was already married to Sarah (Shaina Magdayao), but Mia was still in love with him. Thus, when they reunited in Qatar where both of them were based as overseas Filipino workers, Mia took it as an opportunity to rekindle their romance by taking advantage of his loneliness and despair.</p><p>Unfortunately for them, Sarah found out about their illicit affair when she followed him to Qatar. But instead of backing off or asking for her forgiveness, Mia quarreled with her and told her that he didn’t love her anymore and she was just a mere responsibility for him. Although it was difficult for her, Sarah still had her husband imprisoned along with his paramour, who was already pregnant with their child.  </p><div> </div><p><strong>Denise Laurel</strong>, The Better Half (2017)</p><div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/lhDciCnk3og?si=lF6UsBqdg1gFD_H_" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></div><p>Starting out as a teen star in the early 2000s, Denise went on to become one of the most versatile actresses of her generation. She topbilled a string of projects throughout her career and didn’t fail to amaze us in each. And among her notable portrayals was in the afternoon drama <a href="https://ent.abs-cbn.com/thebetterhalf"><strong><u>The Better Half</u></strong></a><u>,</u> wherein she astounded viewers as Bianca Buenaflor, the main antagonist who was completely obsessed with her childhood friend Marco (Carlo Aquino).</p><p>Marco may have ended up marrying Camille (Shaina Magdayao), but it was only her who he remembered when he suffered amnesia after being in a plane crash. Thus, she took advantage of his condition by building an intricate lie about his life – that they were husband and wife. When Marco slowly regained his memories of Camille, Bianca tried to manipulate him into believing that it was her.</p><p>A few years later, their paths intertwined with Camille and her new husband Rafael (JC de Vera), as they enrolled their daughter Julia in the school owned by Camille, while Bianca’s father had a partnership agreement with Rafael’s company. This triggered Bianca’s obsession and paranoia, which put the lives of Camille and her loved ones in extreme danger, as shown in this scene wherein she fatally shot both Rafael and Camille.</p><div> </div><p><strong>Arjo Atayde</strong>, FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano (2015-2022)</p><div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/lFN4MrCXQac?si=bATXToUcSOQlXudM" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></div><p>He might be the son of veteran actress Sylvia Sanchez, but Arjo has managed to create a name for himself through his own efforts and talents. And in 2015, he got what seemed to be his biggest break when he was tapped to play the corrupt Police C/Insp. Joaquin S. Tuazon in the long-running series <a href="https://ent.abs-cbn.com/angprobinsyano"><strong><u>FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano</u></strong></a>. He appeared in the first book that ran from 2015 to 2017, and was the first archenemy of the titular character Ricardo Dalisay (Coco Martin).</p><p>Joaquin used his power in order to hide the operations of the human trafficking and drug ring business of their family, which Cardo’s twin brother Ador discovered, so he murdered him. He later married Ador’s widow Carmen (Bela Padilla), who was killed by his father Tomas Tuazon (Albert Martinez).</p><p>Towards the end of Season 2, Cardo wasn’t only able to dismantle their syndicate, but also killed Joaquin after he kidnapped his wife Alyana (Yassi Pressman) during their wedding. At the same time, it was his way of avenging the death of Ador, too.</p><div> </div><p><strong>Dimples Romana</strong>, Kadenang Ginto (2018-2020)</p><div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Vtb4-jq33yI?si=DnldqGVngZZdr_CO" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></div><p>From supporting roles and kindhearted characters, Dimples was given the chance to showcase a facet of her that we had not seen yet in the years that she’s been in showbiz when she starred in the highly successful series <a href="https://ent.abs-cbn.com/kadenangginto"><strong><u>Kadenang Ginto</u></strong></a>. She was tapped to play the now-iconic main antagonist Daniela Mondragon-Bartolome, the greatest nemesis of Romina (Beauty Gonzalez), who is the new wife of his father Robert (Albert Martinez) and the ex-girlfriend of her husband Carlos (Adrian Alandy).</p><p>As Romina was the common denominator of the most important men in her life, Daniela had nothing but hatred towards her as she saw her as a threat and a rival not just to her relationships with Robert and Carlos, but to her being the rightful heiress of the Mondragon empire. Since both of them were palaban, we always saw them quarrel, as well as their respective daughters Cassie (Francine Diaz) and Marga (Andrea Brillantes).</p><p>While some of their altercations were big and scorching, there were instances that they fought over petty things, such as in this scene when they had a little cook-off at home. While they got on each other’s nerves, avid viewers were actually amused by their incessant bickering and astounded by Dimples’ effectiveness as a kontrabida.</p><div> </div><p><strong>Yam Concepcion</strong>, Love Thy Woman (2020)</p><div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/FPekBJn3n4o?si=uBAz0YKjUCGl7ilC" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></div><p>After being abhorred in the 2018 series <a href="https://ent.abs-cbn.com/halik"><strong><u>Halik</u></strong></a> as the philandering wife and mistress, Yam went on to make Kapamilya audiences feel the same about her when she took on the role of Dana in the 2020 series <a href="https://ent.abs-cbn.com/lovethywoman"><strong><u>Love Thy Woman</u></strong><u>.</u></a></p><p>Born to Filipino-Chinese family, she grew up having to share almost everything she had with her half-sister Jia (Kim Chiu), her father’s daughter to another woman. Thus, she never liked her nor treated her pleasantly ever since they were young.</p><p>While she scornfully accepted that fate, what infuriated her the most was when she found out that Jia had an illicit affair with her husband David (Xian Lim). She’d gone mad since then, as she not only confronted Jia a number of times, but also threatened her life as she wished her dead.</p><div> </div><p><strong>Paulo Avelino</strong>, Flower of Evil (2022)</p><div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/D02sBtObw4s?si=XWXKspGn0zvBFXEc" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></div><p>One of the most sought-after leading men in the local entertainment scene, Paulo has gotten us smitten by his charms and portrayals both on TV and in movies. While he usually serves as the knight-in-shining-armor of his leading ladies, he showed us a different side of him in the Filipino adaptation of the Korean series <a href="https://ent.abs-cbn.com/foe2022"><strong><u>Flower of Evil</u></strong></a> as he played the anti-hero, Jacob del Rosario.</p><p>While it was he whose identity was stolen by Daniel Villareal (Piolo Pascual), it was Jacob who was still the villain in the narrative for he was so relentless in murdering people that would come his way. In fact, he almost had Daniel killed in the first few episodes of the series after he ran over him and decided to bury him as he refused to be taken to the hospital.</p><p>As his mother (Agot Isidro) didn’t want him to be in deep trouble, she stabbed him in the abdomen, which left him in comatose for quite some time. And when he woke up, Jacob brought more chaos to the already complicated plot.</p>

Revisit the thrilling kontrabida moments in teleseryes of the seven seasoned actors that we listed in this special feature!