My Top 10 Filipino TV series/movies

On today's episode of nostalgia.

Jun 27, 2025

Mara Clara, Her Mother's daughter, My Eternal…What do you mean you didn't see any?!

“Filipino movies are all about switching babies at birth…” Please, allow me do the honours of proving you wrong, K-drama Funmi.

Growing up, Filipino movies and teleseryes1 were my thing. I was there. And so was my family. It was always such a great bonding time for us. Asides enjoying American series like “24” and “Empire,” and British series like “Merlin” as a family, we also had a Filipino teleserye era.

Even now, you’ll still find a big bag in our house stuffed with close to a hundred DVDs of Filipino movies, and I’m not even exaggerating!

Back then, the available ones were the pirated versions, of course, the ₦100 per DVD kind, straight from Igwe Movies and all those funny DVD pirates. Lol. Shout-out to my mom, the real MVP who did all the buying. At some point, when everyone was giving up, she persevered, buying some series to 40-50-something season.

From 2013 to around 2018, many of these movies were my primary source of entertainment. I was in a boarding secondary school at the time, and I would often look forward to midterm breaks and holidays. And even if I were in school, some classmates will gather around to hear me narrate plots, especially after exams. I wouldn't miss a scene, if it were a movie I loved.

In fact, the first fiction I wrote in secondary school, the one that made me “popular”—was inspired by a Filipino movie. Even till now, I understand a bit of Tagalog (their language) because I was that invested.

While I've grown so much since then, and I see things a lot differently now (through the lens of Christ), I really did enjoy these movies for their rich storytelling, family/business dynamics, and romance that didn't need to do too much to get give you all the feels in the world.

So, in the spirit of nostalgia, here are my Top 10 Filipino movies/series of all time.

🎬 10. Diary ng Panget (Diary of an Ugly girl) (2014)

Based on a Wattpad book, it had all the teen clichés to show for it. The poor, awkward girl and her diary; and the hurting rich-boy with his bratty attitude. Eya and Cross were such a chaotic duo😂. This movie was cheesy, a bit over-the-top, yet very entertaining. It hit differently because I was a teenager in my Wattpad era at the time I first saw it.

🎬 9. Bride For Rent (2014)

This was another rom-com that had me in shreds. Rocky and Rocco were quite the pair because what in the world was all the drama in this movie? Most especially Rocky! That girl was such a loud, drama queen.

As you can tell from the title, there was a fake marriage, and then, you can already guess what came next. BFR was such a delicious, lighthearted watch.

🎬. 8 Ikaw Lamang (Sold as “No greater love”) (2014)

Ikaw Lamang was EPIC. The story cuts across generations, and ties around forbidden love, betrayal, and political power plays.

This series had one of the most infuriating villains, every time he (Franco) appeared, I wanted to throw the remote at the screen.

However, I loved that the new generation kept the series alive. Gabriel and Jacqueline/Andrea came to the rescue of my attention span when the story almost started to lose me.

🎬7. The Legal Wife (2014)

As the happy-happy movie girl that I’ve always been, the earlier scenes satisfied the lover girl in me, making me wish I could get married right away. Until the infidelity. Whew! Guys, it was messy, painful, and had me fuming like I was the one being cheated on.

Monica was the devoted wife who didn’t deserve an ounce of what Adrian, put her through! And Nicole (Maja Salvador) the best friend? Sigh. Her audacity and betrayal was so infuriating.

One thing I have to give The Legal Wife: It had so much emotional depth! Oh, I cried. I cried a lot. But it would always stand out as one of my all-time favourites, even though I’m hardly a fan of movies that push the cheating narrative.

🎬6. Be My Lady (2016-2017)

Quack, quack, quack…

This series showed us that you can get your ducks to cooperate with you when you sing them a particular song. At some point, I was just rolling my eyes at the silliness but still found it funny.

Also, it deepened my love for the Filipino culture in the most heartwarming way. I didn't know which one I did more between laughing till my stomach hurt, or grinning like a fool through every episode. Phil and Pinang’s love story was too sweet! And those Pinang’s friends—Nars and Miggy? Those guys are cray cray!

The best part for me was watching Phil, a foreigner, slowly immerse himself in Pinang’s world. His struggles with the language, his attempts to win over her family, and his journey of redemption was a good slow burn watch.

Also, the theme song? Beautiful, beautiful song!

🎬 5. Be Careful with My Heart (2012-2014)

(Screamssssss).

Storyline features a polite, no-nonsense widower boss with three kids and an awkward nanny-by-circumstance, who had a crush on him since day one. But when he finally started catching feelings for her? Oh, my days!!! X 1K.

I blushed my heart out watching BCWMH. Maya and Sir Chief had me giddy over something as simple as a eye contact. I remember how me and some of my friends in secondary school would gush over every single scene we saw during the holiday.

I enjoyed this series because there was no unnecessary drama, nor villains plotting revenge. But, the series was quite long. Too long, if you ask me. But I loved every bit of it.

🎬 4. On the Wings of Love (2015)

“Hubby”

“Wifey.”

Clark and Leah were my favourite duo in chemistry and other love-related matters. From their awkward green card marriage setup in the U.S, to all their subsequent tender moments that had me dreaming of mine, this show was good!

Every scene felt natural, like they weren’t even acting. Their love story had just the right amount of sweetness, tension, and lot of aha and heart-fluttering moments. I found Leah very annoying though because why did she always want to ruin a good thing?

Also, some of the supporting casts were doing too much—like those Leah’s neighbours who were getting unnecessary screen time.

Overall, this series was a whole experience, and I was fully in my feelings the entire time.

🎬 3. Ina, Kapatid, Anak (Sold as “Her Mother’s Daughter”) (2012)

If you've seen this series, you will dream of shoes. Beautiful shoes. Margaux’s room was the typical dream room for every young girl!

Also, was I the only one who noticed that almost everyone in this series received a slap at least once? The drama was giving! While it followed the cliché “separated-at-birth” thingy, the series was so much more. That aside, Celyn and Margaux; Beatrice and Teresa delivered such powerful performances that I felt like I was caught in the middle of their family feud.

Another highlight for me was Celyn and Liam! These two had this typical slow burn romance that had me hooked. That airport scene when Celyn finally dropped the unnecessary hard girl act after making Liam work overtime to prove his love? I’ve watched that scene at least a hundred times.

🎬 2. My Eternal (Walang Hanggan) (2012)

“Katerina!” (if you didn’t read that in Daniel’s voice, you missed the point).

This was the second Filipino series I saw, right after Mara Clara back in 2014. Multi-generational love story, sacrifices and betrayals…this movie had it all! I also learnt a few things about the winemaking business.

And, oh my, Daniel and Katerina’s love story was the kind that made you believe in destiny, even when everything, and I mean everything, was against them!

On another note, this series had me stressed out with some back-and-forth in between, but altogether, Walang Hanggan was a solid one.

🎬 1. Till I Met You (2016)

*SCREAMS*

This series tops my list for so many reasons.

First, the early part (which I enjoyed the most) of the show was shot in Greece, and that was how it became one of my dream countries. TIMY had a very captivating cinematography that year, it made every frame look like a postcard.

Initially, the series gave us a fast paced narrative and a love triangle between Basti, Iris, and Ali. But then, the show took a different turn when the trio started a wedding planning business together, and their teamwork was solid, even amidst personal struggles.

Importantly, the on-screen chemistry between Iris and Basti always made me so giddy (James Reid and Nadine Lustre were dating real life at the time).

The theme song also ranks as one of my all-time favorites. To this day, I joke that I might just walk down the aisle to it.

TIMY gave us everything from romance, to friendship, to conflict, and although, the in-betweens dragged on a bit, I loved the way the show ended.

⭐ Honorable Mentions

Somewhere in an alternate reality, these also made the cut: She’s Dating the Gangster, Bridges of love, Pangako sa’yo, Mara Clara, Crazy beautiful you, etcetera…etcetera.

🎬 Where to Watch?

Some are on Youtube and Netflix but I hear a lot of these are on iWantTFC, so if you're up for it, go go!

🎶. Also, I created this playlist, which in turn set the mood for this writing this nostalgic review :)

I’d like to know if you've seen any of the movies mentioned above:

Quality Time

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