The lead stars of the ABS-CBN’s newest hit fantasy series—Liza Soberano, Enrique Gil, Matteo Guidicelli, Sofia Andres, and Makisig Morales—expressed their heartfelt gratitude to all the viewers who continue to support their epic journey during a press conference held at the Dolphy Theater.
The cast sent their warm messages of thanks to all Kapamilyas who watched them on free to air TV, online via iWant TV, and worldwide via The Filipino Channel that made the series a consistent top-rater on weeknights and a consistent trending topic on social media.
This week, the battle among the five tribes of Sansinukob begins. After Dakil (Christian Vasquez) threatened to kill Lakas’ (Enrique) mother, Lila (Ana Abad Santos), the young warrior was left with no choice but to betray Ganda (Liza) and let the desert region conquer the farm region.
The trade region, meanwhile, was about to conquer the farm region when the former found out that it had already been invaded by the desert region. Lakam opted to stage a fake rescue instead, making them the heroes in the eyes of the farmers.
On the other hand, a misunderstanding occurred between the forest and sea regions, stirred by the taga-kalakal, causing the two to fight each other.
As all the chaos happened, the deity of Sansinukob, Apo (Diether Ocampo) and his brother Sarimaw (Ryan Eigenmann), watched over them.
Meanwhile, also during the press conference, the series’ director confirmed that ABS-CBN, Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) commissioner Ronald Adamat, House of Representatives Committee on Indigenous Cultural Communities and Indigenous Peoples chairperson Rep. Nancy Catamco, and leaders of the Indigenous Peoples had a dialogue witnessed by the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) last week.
All parties had the opportunity to discuss and explain their positions on the issues raised on the program.
After hearing all sides, all parties have come to an understanding that the use of “Bagani” is in good faith. In continuing the use of “Bagani” for the series, all have agreed to be partners in further educating the Filipino audience about Filipino culture and its roots from Indigenous Peoples (IP).
Since it began airing on March 5, ABS-CBN has been showing a disclaimer before the airing of the program, emphasizing that the story is purely fictitious, takes inspiration from elements of Filipino mythology and folklore, and does not represent or pertain to any Indigenous Peoples in the country.
––Bagani airs weeknights after FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano on ABS-CBN.