Ang Tanging Ina 2003

Ina (Ai-Ai delas Alas) has four children with three husbands: Tony (Edu Manzano), Alfredo (Tonton Gutierrez), and Kiko (Jestoni Alarcon). Tony dies after falling from a stool, Alfredo dies after a fall in a cinema, and Kiko is electrocuted at their wedding reception. After Kiko’s death, Ina resolves not to remarry.

Ina wakes up to find her twelve children: Juan (Marvin Agustin), Tudis (Nikki Valdez), Tri (Carlo Aquino), Por (Heart Evangelista), Pip (Alwyn Uytingco), Six (Marc Acueza), Seven (Shaina Magdayao), Cate (Serena Dalrymple), Shammy (Jiro Manio), Ten-Ten (Yuuki Kadooka), Connie (Connie Chua) and Sweet, each facing their own problems. Realizing the family’s finances are in dire straits, Ina takes on a string of jobs—from construction work to selling bootleg DVDs—to keep everyone fed, housed, and fed with modest stability.

Por, [Heart Evangelista], reminds Ina of her own debut and prompts Ina to let Juan seek work, even as Juan’s chores at home sow confusion in Ina. Bruno, Ina’s former driver, suggests she work at a strip club for money. Juan crosses paths with his ex-girlfriend Jenny at an amusement park and applies for a job there. Tudis quits her current job to pursue art, while Tri tries to win the approval of his girlfriend’s parents by showing off his intellect. Por hopes to coax her crush Jeffrey to escort her to her debut. Pip, who hides his sexuality, watches his crush Nhel from a distance. Six invites their mother to a retreat, and Seven spearheads a school program about mothers. Shammy tries to conceal that he is uncircumcised, but Pip’s misstep with Nhel inflames tension between Shammy and Pip.

Ina’s well-intentioned efforts backfire in a cascade of misunderstandings: she stops Juan from marrying Jenny, Tudis resists helping Ina find work, she reveals her stripping job to Tri and his girlfriend’s family (causing their breakup), she fails to organize Por’s lavish debut, and she disrupts Six’s “church retreat” by mistaking it for a “trick or treat”—all while learning that Pip is gay. Seven hesitates to share the school program with Ina, fearing further embarrassment. Cate reveals that Ten-Ten is deaf, and Shammy falls ill after a botched circumcision. Ten-Ten then goes missing, amplifying the family’s anxiety. Ina, still in her stripper outfit, hurries to the hospital to be with Shammy, and in the process, Eddie (Dennis Padilla)—the taxi driver—falls in love with her.

During a tense family meeting, Ina’s emotional explanation for juggling multiple jobs backfires, driving Juan to run away with Jenny. Rowena (Eugene Domingo) consoles Ina, who now frets about how to repair everything. After Ina quits stripping, she notices a suspected suicide bomber on a bus, and she helps evacuate the passengers before engaging the bomber in a confrontation. She escapes moments before the blast, the bomber dies, and Ina sustains only minor injuries. Back home, the family mourns a body in the hospital, believing it might be Ina, only to discover she has survived unharmed. With renewed resolve, Ina negotiates a new balance: Juan may date Jenny, Tudis returns to work, Gretchen reconciles with Tri, Pip’s sexuality is accepted, Six forgives Ina, Seven completes her program, Shammy begins to recover, and Ten-Ten is finally found at a church, now understood through a shared means of communication.

At Por’s smaller debut party, Eddie is launched into the air by a firecracker tucked in his pocket. Ina reveals he survives and later marries her, though the accident leaves him infertile. In a hopeful close, the end credits show the whole family learning sign language to communicate with Ten-Ten, underscoring a new era of connection and togetherness for the clan.