Ang Tanging Ina N’yong Lahat 2008

Five years after mourning her fourth husband Eddie, Ina Montecillo, Ai-Ai delas Alas and her best friend Rowena, Eugene Domingo, work as stunt doubles for a film directed by her former employer, Bruno. Four of Ina’s eight children are Overseas Filipinos: her eldest, Juan, migrates to New Zealand with his girlfriend Jenny; Tudis settles in Canada, meeting her future husband, a house painter; Portia (Por) breaks up with Jeffrey, John Prats, and moves to India to join the Global Missionaries of Asia (GMA); and Sixto migrates to the United Kingdom to work as a nurse. Meanwhile, Ina’s remaining brood grows up with their own ambitions, flaws, and loyalties, shaping a family saga that blends sacrifice, stubbornness, and resilience.

Of Ina’s eight remaining children, Tri, Carlo Aquino, is a law student by day and a night-time call centre supervisor. Pip, Alwyn Uytingco, still pursues his dream of show business but mistakenly queues for a rice-distribution program called Pila ng Bigasang Bayan instead of auditions for Pinoy Big Brother. Seven, Shaina Magdayao, shoulders many household duties and often acts as the steady anchor for her siblings. Cate, Serena Dalrymple, carries herself with dignity and often takes a step back to keep the family together. Shammy, Jiro Manio, tends to get into trouble rather than study, yet hints at a shrewd entrepreneurial side in time. Ten-ten, Yuuki Kadooka, is a quiet, deaf-mute boy who observes the world with a thoughtful stillness, while his twin sisters Connie and Sweet bring mischief and charm to the household. Ina runs a restaurant, which eventually buckles under the weight of Rowena’s gluttony and a string of tough choices.

On her 46th birthday, Ina hopes for a fresh start and plans a surprise for her children, only to find that memories of the day have faded from their minds. Realizing she deserves a new path, she enrolls in university as a working student and takes on several odd jobs to support herself and her family. First, she works as a waitress but is fired for removing her uniform in the heat to cool off. She then tries a job at an ice plant but resigns after a visit from Rowena, who remains a complicated but indispensable confidante. Undeterred, Ina presses on with her studies, determined to shape a better future.

Rowena and Ina head to Malacañang in search of work, but their knowledge of titles leads to misinterpretations: they think governess and chambermaid mean governor and chandelier selector, and end up hired as maids. A brief sighting of President Hillary Dafalong, Gloria Diaz, stirs their hopes, but security soon intervenes. After several failed attempts to speak with the President, Ina overhears Vice-President Bill Bilyones, DJ Durano, plotting to assassinate Dafalong. At a public function, Ina and Rowena attempt to warn the President but fail, and Dafalong is killed. Haunted by the specter of the late President, Ina exposes Bilyones, triggering a snap election in which Ina runs for president with her university professor Ren Constantino as her running mate, Cherry Pie Picache. Ina wins by a landslide, and Bilyones is imprisoned.

As President, Ina initially stumbles—one notable misstep involves extended night classes for children—but she grows into the role by implementing reforms: arresting traffic violators, converting vacant land into rice production, and even suggesting a playful, symbolic approach to securing oil by teaching Arab leaders a rain dance. Yet domestic life remains fraught. Tri’s associations pull him toward questionable enterprises, Pip becomes a figure in indecent films, and Ina unknowingly signs a contract to set up a gambling den near Shammy’s school. Her twins, Sweet and Connie, are briefly kidnapped by terrorists after they try to run away, but a televised plea from Ina leads to a prompt rescue and the terrorists are subdued. This traumatic ordeal sharpens Ina’s sense of what truly matters: family first. She eventually announces her resignation during the State of the Nation Address, handing power to Ren.

On her 47th birthday, Ina wakes up convinced her family has forgotten again, only to be surprised by a warm celebration that also makes up for missing her 46th birthday. In the end credits, Ren, now president, walks through Malacañang, stopping to view portraits of past presidents. The final portrait shows Ina, smiling as a former president, surrounded by her family—the irreplaceable core of a life rebuilt through love, courage, and persistence.