A Soldier's Heart

A Soldier's Heart is a 2020 Philippine action drama television series broadcast by Kapamilya Channel. Directed by Richard V. Somes, it stars Gerald Anderson, Carlo Aquino, Vin Abrenica, Elmo Magalona, Jerome Ponce, Yves Flores, Nash Aguas, Sue Ramirez and Sid Lucero. The series aired on ABS-CBN's Primetime Bida evening block and worldwide via The Filipino Channel from January 20 to September 18, 2020, replacing The Killer Bride.

A Soldier's Heart
Title card
Genre
Created byCharo Santos-Concio
Directed by
  • Richard V. Somes
  • Raz De La Torre
  • Mervyn Brondial
Starring
Opening theme"Hanggang Mamatay" by Noel Cabangon
ComposerNoel Cabangon
Country of originPhilippines
Original languageFilipino
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes110 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producerMarielle de Guzman-Navarro
Editors
  • Joy C. Buenaventura
  • Dennis A. Salgado
Running time30 minutes
Production companyRCD Narratives
Release
Original network
Picture format480i (SDTV)
1080i (HDTV)
Original releaseJanuary 20 (2020-01-20) –
September 18, 2020 (2020-09-18)
External links
Website

Synopsis

The series primarily focuses on the soldiers of the 4th Infantry Division of the Philippine Army and their actions during combat. Through multiple perspectives, the story focuses on these soldiers, mainly: Alex Marasigan (Gerald Anderson), an IT expert who quits his desk job and joins because just like his brother, he wants to serve the country, Abraham "Abe" Kamlun (Carlo Aquino), a Tausug Muslim man, who, despite his family's opposition of the move, joins the Army nonetheless, and Michael Mendoza (Nash Aguas), a boy who joins the Army to provide for his family.

The series also focuses on their Moro separatist adversaries, led by Saal Alhuraji (Sid Lucero), also known by his nom de guerre Abdul Waajid, who seeks to avenge his father who was killed by the military.

Cast and characters
Gerald Anderson portrays Alex Marasigan.
Elmo Magalona portrays Jethro Mondejar.
Yves Flores portrays Benjie Arguelles.
Nash Aguas portrays Michael Mendoza.
Ariel Rivera portrays Victor Mondejar.
Francis Magundayao portrays Amir Majul.
Main cast
Supporting cast
Guest cast
  • John Vincent Servilla as Chino Villaverde
  • Richard Quan as Gov. Amer Gezali
  • Sammie Rimando as Chloe Gezali
  • Elora Espano/Shaira Opsimar as Aaliyah Abad
  • Levi Ignacio as Cong. Shamal Shakiri
  • Ketchup Eusebio[4] as Cpl. Olan Arguelles, PA
  • Lito Pimentel as Yosef Alhuraji
  • Teroy de Guzman as Abdul Waajid
  • Minco Fabregas as Jamal Kamlun
  • Dionne Monsanto as Atty. Odessa Mariano

Broadcast

The series airs on ABS-CBN's Primetime Bida evening block and worldwide on The Filipino Channel.

On March 16, 2020, despite having already canned its episodes, the show suspended it's airings and its production was put on hiatus due to the 2020 Luzon enhanced community quarantine in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines.[7] Its timeslot was temporarily filled by Wildflower,[8] iWant Originals[7] and Tubig at Langis.[9]

Thereafter, the show's future would be placed in doubt after the temporary closure of ABS-CBN following the cease and desist order issued by the National Telecommunications Commission on account of its franchise expiration.[10] However, on June 4, 2020, it was announced that the show would make its return on June 15, 2020 with a brand new season on cable-and-satellite channel Kapamilya Channel.[11]

Reception

Ratings
Kantar Media National TV Ratings
(9:20PM PST)
Pilot EpisodeFinale EpisodePeakAverage
19.8%
January 20, 2020[12]		 N/A
September 18, 2020		 N/A
N/A
  • This program airs nationally on a cable channel/pay TV which normally has a relatively smaller audience compared to free-to-air TV/public broadcasters (GMA, TV5, and PTV among others).

Depiction of Butuan City

The show came under fire early in the show's run for its perceived "unrealistic" and "offensive" depiction of Butuan.[13] The scene in question was from the show's pilot episode showing the bombing of a market in the city.[13] In a statement, Agusan del Norte 1st District Representative Lawrence Fortun asked ABS-CBN “to immediately air an appropriate disclaimer, review and reconsider the content and story elements of the teleserye in order not to further besmirch the reputation of our historic city.”[13]

ABS-CBN, for its part, apologized on January 23, 2020. Its statement read: “ABS-CBN would like to apologize to Agusan Del Norte Rep. Lawrence Fortun and the people of Butuan City if the scenes in the TV series ‘A Soldier’s Heart’ have offended them. While the incident portrayed in the series was fictitious, there was mention of the city name.”

“We would like to assure them that there was no deliberate intention to portray Butuan City negatively in the show. We acknowledge that Butuan is one of the most beautiful and peaceful cities in the country,” it added.[14]

On January 24, 2020, ABS-CBN executives headed by Cory Vidanes and Laurenti Dyogi met with Fortun to further clear the issue. After said meeting, Fortun noted that aside from airing specific disclaimers, ABS-CBN has removed all production elements, scenes, and references that may be offensive to Butuan.[15]

See also

References
  1. "Cast ng A Soldier's Heart, ipinakilala na!". ABS-CBN Entertainment. July 24, 2019. Retrieved November 5, 2019.
  2. "Sumabak sa Scout Ranger training, Gerald kumain na nakadapa habang nasa putikan!". Philippine Star. August 11, 2019. Retrieved November 5, 2019.
  3. A Soldier's Heart: The Brotherhood Teaser. ABS-CBN Entertainment. January 9, 2020. Retrieved January 20, 2020.
  4. "A Soldier's Heart shows sacrifice, loyal brotherhood of soldiers". ABS-CBN Corporate. January 17, 2020. Retrieved January 20, 2020.
  5. "Sue Ramirez and Gerald Anderson gear up for upcoming series A Soldier's Heart". Showbiz Chika.
  6. "With Star Magic return, Matt Evans feels his prayers were answered". ABS-CBN News. July 31, 2019. Retrieved November 10, 2019.
  7. "READ: ABS-CBN statement on special primetime programming amid Metro Manila quarantine". ABS-CBN News. March 14, 2020. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
  8. Anarcon, James Patrick (March 23, 2020). "ABS-CBN's Wildflower goes head-to-head with GMA-7's My Husband's Lover in new primetime line-up". PEP. Retrieved March 31, 2020.
  9. ""Tubig at Langis" back on ABS-CBN, airs weeknights on primetime". ABS-CBN Corporation. April 14, 2020. Retrieved April 19, 2020.
  10. Rivas, Ralf (May 5, 2020). "ABS-CBN goes off-air after NTC order". Rappler. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
  11. "FPJ's Ang Probinsyano and other favorite Kapamilya shows return on cable and satellite TV". ABS-CBN News. ABS-CBN Corporation. June 4, 2020. Retrieved June 4, 2020.
  12. "National TV Ratings (January 20–21, 2020)". ABS-CBN Corporate. January 22, 2020. Retrieved January 22, 2020.
  13. "A Soldier's Heart' shows 'unreal depiction' of Butuan, says Agusan del Norte rep". Rappler. January 23, 2020. Retrieved March 6, 2020.
  14. "ABS-CBN sorry after Butuan solon complains against 'A Soldier's Heart'". ABS-CBN News. January 23, 2020. Retrieved March 6, 2020.
  15. Santos, Mari-An (January 26, 2020). "ABS-CBN removes "offensive" Butuan scenes from A Soldier's Heart". PEP. Retrieved March 6, 2020.
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