''Magkaribal'' (International title: ''Rivals'') is a 2010

Philippine drama television series The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of 7,641 islands, with a total area of roughly 300,000 square kilometers, which ar ...

starring

Bea Alonzo Phylbert Angelli Ranollo Fagestrom (born October 17, 1987), known professionally as Bea Alonzo, is a Filipino actress, singer and Youtuber. She is best known for playing dramatic roles in romantic drama films. Her notable films include '' The M ...

and

Gretchen Barretto Gretchen Castelo Barretto (; born March 6, 1970) is a Filipino former actress and socialite. She was launched in Regal Films' ''14 Going on Steady'' as a singer-actress, with the release of her debut single "Going Steady", which served as the ...

. The series ran on

ABS-CBN ABS-CBN is a leading Philippine media and content company. It serves as the flagship media brand of ABS-CBN Corporation, a subsidiary of Lopez Holdings Corporation. Once the country's largest free-to-air television network, ABS-CBN has since ...

from June 28 to November 5, 2010, replacing '' Pinoy Big Brother: Teen Clash 2010'' and was replaced by ''Perfect Match''.

Premise

Two sisters, Anna and Angela Abella, are separated due to a tragedy caused by their long family back story. Anna trains herself to be a perfect Filipina model and fashion designer under her new name Victoria Valera. Meanwhile, Angela is adopted by the Agustins and is renamed Angela “Gelai” Agustin. Both of them end up having the same ambition in fashion as they did in their childhood together. So they cross paths in the fashion industry unaware that they are sisters and greedily end up as rivals; not just in their careers, but also in love. Vera Cruz is a famous model and fashion designer, and is also the woman in the past who caused the Abella family's destruction. Now she is ready to keep the two women fighting, and aims to destroy Victoria's image with Gelai to avoid their closure. Vera is determined to stop the Abella sisters from uniting against her to dethrone her. But what if the two eventually find out the truth? Can they heal the wounds of their rivalry?

Cast and characters

Main cast

as Angela "Gelai" Agustin / Angela Abella *

as Victoria Valera / Anna Abella *

Angel Aquino Angelita Grace Velasquez Aquino (born February 7, 1973) is a Filipino actress, fashion model, and television personality. Prominent in independent films, she has also worked on Television in the Philippines, television shows of varying genres, ...

as Vera Cruz-Abella *

Derek Ramsay Derek Arthur Ramsay Jr. (born December 7, 1976) is a British-Filipino model, actor, and TV host. He has an exclusive contract with GMA Network. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Ramsay froze his contract with GMA Network. Ramsay is currently inact ...

as Louie Villamor *

Erich Gonzales Erika Chryselle Gonzales Gancayco-Lorenzo (born September 20, 1990), better known by her stage name Erich Gonzales (; ), is a Filipino actress. She is a contract artist of ABS-CBN's Star Magic. She started her showbiz career at the age of 14, a ...

as Chloe C. Abella *

Enchong Dee Ernest Lorenzo "Enchong" Velasquez Dee (, born November 5, 1988) is a Filipino people, Filipino actor, comedian, model, host, swimmer, triathlete, duathlete and writer. Dee is a contract artist of ABS-CBN Corporation, ABS-CBN's Star Magic. ...

as Caloy Javier

Supporting cast

Robert Arevalo Robert Ylagan Arevalo (; born Robert Francisco Ylagan; May 6, 1938 – August 10, 2023) was a veteran Filipino film and television actor. Early life Robert Arevalo was born as Robert Francisco Ylagan in Dumaguete, Negros Oriental on May 6, 1 ...

as Ronaldo Valera *

Mark Gil Raphael John Gil Eigenmann (September 25, 1961 – September 1, 2014), known professionally as Mark Gil, was a Filipino actor. Gil was often cast as a main villain in Philippine action films that was popular during the late '80s to the early 20 ...

as Manuel Abella *

John Arcilla Romeo John Gonzales Arcilla (born June 24, 1966) is a Filipino actor. He became the first Filipino and the first Southeast Asian actor to receive the Volpi Cup for Best Actor at the Venice International Film Festival (2021) for his perform ...

as Hermes Agustin * Arlene Muhlach as Sonia Agustin * Lyka Ugarte as Betsy *

Bianca Manalo Pamela Bianca Ramos Manalo (born November 28, 1986) is a Filipino actress and beauty pageant titleholder. She was the Binibining Pilipinas Universe 2009 winner, and represented the Philippines at Miss Universe 2009, but she was unplaced. In ...

as Gigi Fernando * Nina Ricci Alagao as Donna * Beatriz Saw as Kate Delovieres * Toffee Calma as Jean Paul * R.S. Francisco as Gian Franco * Artemio Abad as Johnny * Rodjun Cruz as Calvin *

Marc Abaya Ramon Marcelino Diaz Abaya (born November 6, 1979), known professionally as Marc Abaya, is a Filipino singer, musician, actor, TV host, and VJ. He appeared in the 2009 Philippine release of ''Tinker Bell''. He is the son of actor/director Manol ...

as Neil Olaguer * Lorenzo Mara as Salvador * RJ Ledesma as Christian Ocampo * Edward Mendez as Marc Laurel *

Christian Vasquez Christian Oliver B. Vazquez (born February 8, 1977) is a Filipino actor, model and a former housemate of ABS-CBN's '' Pinoy Big Brother: Pinoy Big Brother: Celebrity Edition''. During his stint at Pinoy Big Brother, he was one of the comed ...

as Paul *

Irma Adlawan Irma Santonil Adlawan (born March 7, 1962) is a Filipino stage, television and film actress. She is dubbed as the “''Queen of Independent Cinema''” for her acting prowess and exceptional contribution to the Philippine film industry. Adla ...

as Carolina

Special participation

Kathryn Bernardo Kathryn Chandria Manuel Bernardo (born March 26, 1996) is a Filipino actress. She began her career as a child actress, portraying young versions of lead characters in series such as '' It Might Be You'' (2003) and '' Endless Love'' (2010). She ...

as young Anna/Victoria * Barbie Sabino as young Angela/Gelai *

Nash Aguas Aeign Zackrey "Nash" Aguas Victoriano (; born October 10, 1998) is a Filipino actor and politician. Since 2022, he has been serving as a councilor of Cavite City. In 2004, Aguas won the first season of the televised talent competition '' Sta ...

as young Louie/Doz *

Dimples Romana Dianne Marie Romana Ahmee (born November 13, 1984) known professionally as Dimples Romana, is a Filipino actress. Noted for her acclaimed performances in film and television, she made her first screen appearance through the series '' Esperanza'' ...

as Stella Abella *

James Blanco James Blanco Castillo (born June 15, 1981), known professionally as James Blanco, is a Filipino singer-songwriter, actor, and television personality. He is known for his roles in ''Ikaw Lang ang Mamahalin'' (2001 – 2002), '' Rubi'' (2010), ' ...

as young Manuel *

Alessandra de Rossi Alessandra de Rossi (born Alessandra Tiotangco Schiavone on July 19, 1984) is a Filipino actress and writer. Known for her dramatic and comedic performances in independent film and television, she made her screen debut in the comedy series ''! ...

as young Vera *

Allan Paule Allan Paule De Guzman (born December 24, 1963, in Cebu City), better known as Allan Paule, is a Filipino actor. Paule has appeared in more than 100 movies and television series. Paule also unsuccessfully ran for councilor of Muntinlupa's 1st ...

as young Ronaldo

Episodes

Production

The show is set the fashion world and includes costuming and cameo appearances by local designers. According to several executives behind the show's production, the series was originally planned to stage the comeback of actress

Donna Cruz Donna Cruz Yrastorza-Larrazabal (born February 14, 1977) (), is a Filipina singer and actress. Since the middle of the 1990s, she has released 8 studio albums, and featured as an actress in local films. She has also appeared on four soundtrac ...

. During the course of pre-production, Cruz was to play Angela Abella/Gelai Agustin, and

was initially considered to portray the role of Anna Abella/Victoria Valera.

Christopher de Leon Christopher Strauss de León (born October 31, 1956), also known as Boyet, is a Filipino actor, filmmaker and politician. Often referred to as the "King of Philippine Drama", he gained stardom for his leading man roles in numerous film and te ...

was also tapped to play the role of Manuel, and

Cherie Gil Evangeline Rose Gil Eigenmann (; June 21, 1963 – August 5, 2022), known professionally as Cherie Gil (), was a Filipino actress. With a career spanning nearly 50 years, she was dubbed the "''La Primera Contravida''" ("The Prime Villain") " ( ...

was shortlisted as Vera Cruz. The series also included

as Louie,

as Caloy, and

as Chloe. After Cruz backed out due to her commitments in Cebu where she permanently resides, ABS-CBN tapped real-life sisters Gretchen Barretto and Claudine Barretto for the roles of Anna/Victoria and Angela/Gelai respectively. After the latter's transfer to GMA Network along with actors de Leon and Gil, the production was again delayed. It was only until Bea Alonzo's casting as Angela Abella/Gelai Agustin that the series continued to develop, with Barretto retaining the role as Anna/Victoria, and Aquino this time playing the role of Vera.

took the role of Manuel in the final casting of characters. A young Kathryn Bernardo would be cast in the role of a young Anna/Vera, which she did she simultaneously with

GMA Network GMA Network (an acronym of its legal name, Global Media Arts and commonly known as GMA) is a Television in the Philippines, Philippine commercial broadcast network, serving as the flagship property of publicly traded GMA Network (company), ...

series '' Endless Love'' wherein she played the role of young Jenny. Following her performance in ''Magkaribal'', she went on to be cast as Mara in the ''Mara Clara'' remake.

San Agustin Church (Manila) The Archdiocesan Shrine of Our Lady of Consolation and Cincture, also known as the Church of Saint Augustine and Immaculate Conception Parish, is a Catholic Church, Roman Catholic church under the auspices of the Augustinians, Order of Saint Au ...

Reruns

It aired reruns on

Jeepney TV Jeepney TV is a Philippine pay television channel owned and operated by Creative Programs, a subsidiary of ABS-CBN Corporation. Its programming features classic television programs produced by ABS-CBN. The channel was named after the jeepne ...

from January 6 to April 17, 2014; from April 6 to May 21, 2015; from September 4 to October 13, 2017; from April 21 to August 4, 2019; from December 26, 2022 to March 3, 2023; and from October 28 to December 27, 2024 (also aired on ALLTV).

Reception

''Magkaribal'' received heavy promotion as competition for GMA Network's ''Endless Love'', whose pilot aired at the same time (even though ''Magkaribal'' aired a little later than Endless Love). The show premiered on June 28, 2010, with a 25.3% national household rating against its direct competition, ''

Diva Diva (, ) is the Latin word for a goddess. Diva is a name from Roman mythology, and is associated with the nouns divus, diva, which means god, goddess, and the adjective divinius, which means divine or heavenly. It has often been used to refer t ...

'' on GMA Network with a 19.4% national household rating (''Endless Love'' scored a pilot rating of 22.9%, which aired earlier than ''Magkaribal''). ''Magkaribal'' posted a 30.0% national household rating on its finale against its rival show (direct competition in the timeslot), ''

Beauty Queen A beauty pageant is a competition in which the contestants are judged and ranked based on various physical and mental attributes. Per its name, beauty pageants traditionally focus on judging the contestants' physical attractiveness, sometimes so ...

'', which only managed to score a 14.4% national household rating.

Awards and recognitions

International broadcast

As with many ABS-CBN teleseryes, Magkaribal aired in Kenya dubbed in English under the title ''Rivals''. It was broadcast on NTV during the prime 6pm - 7pm timeslot in 2011.

References

External links

Official website
*{{IMDb title, 1691237 ABS-CBN drama series 2010 Philippine television series debuts 2010 Philippine television series endings Philippine melodrama television series Philippine romance television series Fashion-themed television series Filipino-language television shows Television shows set in the Philippines