The Greatest Love is a Philippine television drama melodrama series broadcast by ABS-CBN. Directed by Dado C. Lumibao, Jeffrey R. Jeturian, Mervyn B. Brondial and Paco A. Sta. Maria, it stars Sylvia Sanchez, Nonie Buencamino, Andi Eigenmann, Dimples Romana, Arron Villaflor, Matt Evans, Joshua Garcia, and Ruby Ruiz. It aired on the network's Kapamilya Gold line up and worldwide on TFC from September 5, 2016, to April 21, 2017.
The program marks the reunion of Ellen Adarna and Ejay Falcon who were among the lead stars of Pasión de Amor, a Filipino version of Pasión de Gavilanes, aired on ABS-CBN.
Series overview Episode
Premise The Greatest Love begins with aspiring photographer Gloria (Ellen Adarna) and her love story with a boatman named Peter (Ejay Falcon). Despite the fact that they love each other, Gloria is forced under duress by her father to marry Andres Alegre (Junjun Quintana), the town mayor's nephew who raped her.
Through the years, Gloria (Sylvia Sanchez) is a loving and selfless mother to Amanda (Dimples Romana), Andrei (Matt Evans), Paeng (Arron Villaflor), and Lizelle (Andi Eigenmann). To her children's perception, their father is a hard working OFW who visits from time to time. They live in the Alegre ancestral family home. Andres does not remit funds regularly so Gloria compensates by collecting, buying and selling junk. When their father comes to visit, they are a picture of a happy family.
At the root of their family's problems are her children's misconceptions that their mother was unfaithful to their father, the late Andres. Gloria refuses to sully their memory of their father, so she never admits to them that she was raped by Andres.
The breaking point is when they discover that Lizelle is an illegitimate child, the result of Peter and Gloria's illicit love affair, when Andres abandons them.
This long-kept secret shatters their happy family, and Gloria's children leave her one by one. As Gloria struggles to keep her family together, she starts to show symptoms of dementia and begins to lose pieces of her memory. She initially brushes off the symptoms until she is finally diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.
As her illness progresses, Gloria attempts to bring back the love her family once had for each other; however, it becomes more difficult as she races against time while trying to gather her memories before they are completely wiped out. Peter (Nonie Buencamino) returns to Gloria's life and together they try to mend her children's relationship with her and each other.
Cast and characters Main cast Cast Character Character Information Sylvia Sanchez Gloria A. Guerrero-Alegre / Gloria A. Guerrero-Alcantara† A selfless mother to her four children, always prioritizing them and their feelings before her own. She is joyful and always has a positive outlook on life with her motto There is money in the trash. She runs a profitable junk shop, and helps lead a Zumba-Chi class in her free time. Her dream is to have a plot of land for a vacation house in her home province of Bagong Ilog. Gloria is diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, and the symptoms of her illness cause her trouble throughout the series. She passes away after a second but severe stroke. Gloria's family open the Happy Mornings Home Care Facility in her honor. Nonie Buencamino Pedro "Peter" Alcantara† Vice chairman of Nuevo Rio Constructions, named after his home province of Bagong Ilog. He is Gloria's one true love and Lizelle's biological father. After losing connection with Gloria years ago, he becomes a successful businessman. Peter then returns to her life; at first he is angry because he thought Gloria betrayed and manipulated him, but after confirming he is Lizelle's father he is determined to make up for all the lost time they missed. He wants to marry Gloria, but the Alegre siblings object because they believe he is the cause of their broken family. Undeterred, Peter waits until the Alegre siblings finally accept him. They marry towards the end of the series. He dies in his sleep due to a brain tumor, and Gloria later reunites with him in heaven. Andi Eigenmann Lizelle G. Alegre / Lizelle G. Alcantara-Sobrevista Gloria's youngest child who helps her mother at their family junk shop. Lizelle has a degree in accounting, and is the fruit of Gloria and Peter's illicit love. She had seen Peter before in her childhood, and believed he is her biological father. Lizelle meets Peter again after the latter saves her from getting hit by a car. In order to further strengthen his bond with his daughter, Peter has Lizelle's last name changed to his, and provides everything possible for her to live comfortably while she works at his company. After taking over as OIC at Nuevo Rio, Lizelle becomes the financial officer for Happy Mornings. Dimples Romana Amanda G. Alegre-Cruz Gloria's first child. She is a successful marketing executive, a good wife to her husband Chad, and a responsible mother to her son Z. Amanda is mad at Gloria when she learned of her mother's past liaison with Peter, and thus despises Lizelle for being their illegitimate child. When she finds out that Gloria has Alzheimer's disease, and the truth about her parents’ relationship, she gradually tries to repair her relationship with her mother and siblings. Years after Gloria's passing, Amanda becomes the manager of her family's new business: the Happy Mornings Home Care Facility for dementia patients. Arron Villaflor Rafael "Paeng" G. Alegre The third of Gloria's four children. An aspiring indie rock singer, inheriting his love for music from his father, Andres. Paeng was the first of the siblings to find out about Gloria's illness, albeit unintentionally. Despite his guilt and worry for his mother, however, he uses the sickness to his advantage and steals money from her to sustain his gambling and alcohol addiction. Like Amanda, he is bitter towards Lizelle and blames her for ruining their family. Paeng eventually goes back to college, and later is the music therapist for Happy Mornings. Matt Evans Andres "Andrei" G. Alegre Jr. A makeup artist and Gloria's second child. He is the only one out of the Alegre siblings who defends Lizelle despite not having the same father. Andrei is the peacemaker of the Alegre siblings and does what he can to prevent conflict in the family, but his patience eventually reaches its limit. Gloria knew that Andrei was gay during his childhood, and assured that she has always loved him for who he was ever since. Andrei is head of the wellness program at Happy Mornings. Joshua Garcia Zosimo "Z" A. Cruz A senior in high school, Amanda and Chad's son, and Gloria's grandson. He learns of Gloria's disease, her love story with Peter, and how she was raped by his grandfather Andres. Z helps his Mommyla (mommy + lola) retain her memories by taking photos and filming videos of her daily life, which also documented the deteriorating effects of her illness. Years after Gloria dies of a severe stroke, he becomes a neurologist supporting Happy Mornings. Ruby Ruiz Lydia Balane-Thompson Gloria's best friend since their young adult years. She is a mother figure to Gloria's children, especially to Paeng as his godmother. Lydia helps Gloria navigate with her sickness, as well as with her family's problems. She is the only one who knows Gloria's darkest secret of being raped by Andres, and that Amanda was almost aborted. After Gloria reveals the whole truth to Amanda and Lizelle, Lydia also does so to Andrei and Paeng.
Supporting cast Cast Character Character Information Tetchie Agbayani Ma. Estella "Stella" Alegre-Policarpio Andres’ cousin, and Amanda, Andrei, and Paeng's aunt. Did not accept Lizelle because she knew that she is not Andres’ biological daughter. She will do everything to destroy Gloria's name and reputation. Stella pretends to ask forgiveness from Gloria in order to pursue her evil plans. Luis Alandy Richard "Chad" Cruz An English teacher, Amanda's husband, and Z's father. Chad particularly despises Alvin for jeopardizing his wife's career. Prior to Z's high school graduation, he traveled to work in Beijing to augment for his family's needs, especially Z's college tuition. Bobby Andrews Alvin Sales Amanda's friend and co-worker at Idea Shop who harbors feelings for her. After their company loses out on their sponsorship with Builder's Home which resulted in Amanda getting terminated and Alvin resigning, they start their own marketing agency. Mercedes Cabral Greta Ramirez Amanda's co-worker at Idea Shop who attempted to take credit for a campaign project from Amanda, and is keen on creating conflict with her, going as far as conspiring with someone to commit online defamation. She later reconciles with Amanda and goes to work at Amanda and Alvin's new agency. Guji Lorenzana Gerald Samonte Lizelle's ex-fiancé who supported her search for her biological father. Gerald is embarrassed to show his mother how the Alegre family behaves, knowing his mother is judgmental. After he learns the truth about Lizelle's real father, he belittles her and the marriage is broken off. Alex Medina Alexander "Sandro" Sobrevista A worker at the Alegre Junk Shop who has a crush on Lizelle. Sandro and the rest of the team at the junk shop support Gloria on her endeavors to bring her family back together. He later marries Lizelle and they have a daughter named Sunny. Kira Balinger Waywaya "Y" Soledad The one who taught Z not to easily trust people upon meeting them for the first time. She helps Z with his project for his grandmother Gloria. Y eventually lands a job at Ken's coffee shop in order to support herself and her mother. Later on becomes a close friend and girlfriend to Z. Years after Gloria's death, she becomes the head nurse at Happy Mornings. Micah Muñoz Ken Andrei's boyfriend. Runs the coffee shop that Y and Z work at part time.Ynez VeneracionIsabelOne of Gloria's best friends. Elaine Quemuel Azon Gloria's friend and a Zumba-Chi dancer. Edith Tagle Melba Dela Torre The Alegre household's helper who supports Gloria throughout the obstacles of her illness. She is eventually licensed as Gloria's certified personal caregiver until the former's passing, and becomes the head caregiver of Happy Mornings. Kokoy de Santos Luis Z's schoolmate and friend. Akira Morishita Eric Z's schoolmate and friend. Nor Domingo Jomar Peter's right-hand man and friend. Martha Comia Bangs One of Gloria's workers at the junk shop. Acey Aguilar Tigs One of Gloria's workers at the junk shop. Kych Minemoto Pogs One of Gloria's workers at the junk shop.
Special participation