Dingdong Dantes says ‘Descendants of the Sun’ to show soldiers' hard life

Dingdong Dantes said his role as Captain Lucas Manalo in the highly-anticipated Philippine adaptation of "Descendants of the Sun" is very special for him.

At the media conference of the drama series on Thursday, Dingdong said being able to immerse with the lives of modern day heroes like soldiers and doctors really touched his heart and made him realize even more the importance of their roles in the lives of Filipinos.

"Binigyan kami ng chance to immerse ng mga ilang araw sa buhay ng sundalo so nakita namin kung gaano kahirap pinagdadaanan nila sa training," he said.

"Doon pa lang sa experience namin na 'yon, nagkaroon kami ng picture kung kaano talaga kahalaga ang role nila sa lipunan natin," he added.

Dingdong said they also inserted a lot of family values in the series to add a Filipino twist in it.

"Siyempre kung papaano magmahal ang mga Pinoy, kung paano mag-asaran 'yong mga kaibigan, kung paano kami sa magulang namin, sa mga kapatid, (maraming ganoon)," he said.

Dingdong also said because of his training with the military for the series, he got to experience first hand how hard it was to be one.

But despite intense training for his role, he said they always prioritized safety first.

"Mas naappreciate talaga namin 'yong trabaho nila," he said.

The Philippine adaptation of "Descendants of the Sun" centers on the characters of Lucas Manalo (Dingdong), a captain of the Armed Forces of the Philippines Special Forces unit and Dr. Maxine dela Cruz (Jennylyn Mercado), a doctor. They are two people with different views on how to protect people based on their professions.

But despite their differences, their paths will still cross and they will eventually fall in love with each other.

The Philippine adaptation of "Descendants of the Sun" is set to premiere on February 10 on GMA Telebabad.

The star-studded cast of the hit Koreanovela directed by Dominic Zapata also stars Rocco Nacino, Jasmine Curtis-Smith, Pancho Magno, Renz Fernandez, Chariz Solomon, Andre Paras, Nicole Donesa, Reese Tuazon, Jenzel Angeles and Bobby Andrews among others.

"Descendants of the Sun" first aired in the country in 2016. It starred Song Joong-ki and Song Hye-kyo.

In 2016, a dubbed version of the "Descendants of the Sun" was also aired by GMA Network. —LDF, GMA News