GMA Network seals partnership with the Armed Forces of the Philippines

GMA Network's Entertainment Group inked a partnership with the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) for the highly-anticipated Philippine adaptation of the hit Korean drama series, Descendants of the Sun.

Present during the MOA signing yesterday, June 20, at the GMA Network Center were Major General Bienvenido R. Datuin, Jr., Commander of Civil Relations Service, Armed Forces of the Philippines (CRSAFP); GMA Senior Vice President for Entertainment Group Lilybeth G. Rasonable; GMA Vice President for Drama Productions Redgie A. Magno; GMA Assistant Vice President for Drama Cheryl Ching-Sy; and Senior Program Manager Ali Nokom Dedicatoria.

Also present were Major Gene R. Orense PA - C3, CRSAFP; Major Rommel Panganiban PA; Major Louzel Lara PA - Media and Civil Affairs Group; Major Elmar Salvador PA - Deputy C3 / Project Manager; and Staff Sergeant Efren Eugenio PA.

The lead stars of Descendants of the Sun -Kapuso Primetime King Dingdong Dantes, sought-after actor Rocco Nacino, and award-winning actress Jasmine Curtis-Smith- also came in full force.

Major General Datuin is looking forward to working with the Network for the Pinoy version of the series.“The pleasure and the honor are ours. As I always say, this is an AFP that you can trust. We have evolved into your partners in the civilian community. This is an opportunity for us para maipakita ang aming core values which are patriotism, honor, and service, which I know that our actors and actresses here will be able to portray. Maraming salamat and we look forward to this partnership,” he said.

Rasonable, in turn, is grateful to the AFP for partnering with GMA. “First of all, we are so honored and very thankful that the AFP has agreed to help us and partner with GMA for this project. This is a much-awaited and very important flagship project of the Network and we cannot have it any other way than with the AFP helping us out,” she shared.

Magno is equally indebted to AFP for extending their services to the Network. “We are very excited to work with the AFP, in the same way that they are excited to work with us. We just want to always be guided on how to do things correctly and right. That is why we want to partner with them and we are so privileged that they agreed to work with us.”

For Dingdong, who is set to play the iconic role of “Big Boss” or Captain Lucas Manalo in the series, the partnership solidifies the Network's commitment to rightfully represent the country's military forces. “Thank you po sa ating Armed Forces of the Philippines represented today by General Datuin and of course our GMA bosses. Bukod sa pagsasabuhay ng mga karakter sa Descendants of the Sun, today shows that we are committed in bringing to life and representing properly and well with honor and pride our Armed Forces and we are very excited to start this show already,” Dingdong shared.

Jasmine, on the other hand, is set to play the role of Lieutenant Moira Defensor. “Thank you so much to GMA and AFP for trusting us to portray incredible roles that represent not just the characters from the original story, but also the military men in our country. I look forward to this and I'm very excited to portray the role of Moira,” Jasmine said.

Playing opposite her is Rocco who will portray the role of Sergeant Diego Ramos. “I've been looking forward to this for a long time. I'm just really excited to give my all sa mga training and rest assured po that you will receive the cooperation from all actors para maisagawa nang maayos ang lahat ng techniques at tamang proseso na ginagawa ng mga sundalo. We are excited to make the Philippines proud through this show,” Rocco expressed.

Joining the star-studded cast of the Philippine adaptation of Descendants of the Sun are Andre Paras as Dr. Ralph Vergara, Chariz Solomon as Nurse Emma Perez, Renz Fernandez as Dr. Earl Jimeno, Lucho Ayala as Staff Sergeant Alen Eugenio, Paul Salas as Marty Talledo, Prince Clemente as Sergeant First Class Randy Katipunan, Jon Lucas as Staff Sergeant Benjo Tamayo, and Hailey Mendes as Judith Manalo.