Batang Quiapo

This is by far, the worst adaption of the film by Fernando Po, Jr. The only similarity to the original film is the last names of the protagonist (Dimaguiba) and the location (Quiapo). The main protagonist, played by Coco Martin is forever being persecuted by being shot (mulitple times), beaten, and tortured, while all the antagonists, mainly his stepfather and brother, continue to succeed. The series portrays the police in a disrespectful manner, and promotes criminality. The story moves extremely slowly due to the many plot threads. FPJ would be turning in his grave if he saw this. Disgraceful is putting it mildly.

If you aren't tuned in to mainstream Filipino television, you're not missing much. There are just so many things to say about this show but I'll try to keep it short.

It is HIGHLY uncompelling. There is no tension and smart plot points. The writers, no matter how many put their brains together, have to rely on twists. The dialogue is laughable. The characters are literally just cardboard cutouts; no depth. It's like Ang Probinsyano, but skipping to the part where it became a rotten pot of brain rot. No essence, it's ridiculous, and a sad excuse for Fernando Poe Jr's legacy. God bless that man.

First of all its because David Dimaguiba is absolutely worthless in the show. There are many reasons why I say this, and I don't think he deserves the sympathy of the viewers and his arrogance is incredibly annoying. From the start, he always acts like he's the best, and he doesn't think about the consequences of his actions. His attitude causes conflict with his siblings and other characters. He's often defensive and doesn't know how to admit his mistakes, making it hard to feel any sympathy for him.

Secondly, his irresponsibility is a major issue. He's known to be a womanizer, and his relationships, especially with Camille, showcase his selfish nature. In scenes where he causes pain and heartbreak to those around him, he seems indifferent. This kind of behavior is truly frustrating and makes viewers lose interest in his character.

A significant point is when he killed Camille. This action illustrates his violent nature. This behavior isn't just a simple mistake; it shows his capacity for extreme anger. In this way, it becomes difficult to find any positive aspect to him, especially when his actions create bigger problems in the story.

It's also undeniable that he doesn't show any character development. Even after the tragedy of Camille's death, it seems like he hasn't learned anything. His lack of interest in rectifying his mistakes shows that he's a static character. Because of this, I lose interest in him and his story. He doesn't take any steps to change, so everything that happens to him feels pointless.

In the context of "Batang Quiapo," his siblings, Tanggol and Santino, actually become his opposites. They have better qualities and often show compassion and resilience. Because of this, David's weaknesses are even more apparent. It's like the contrast between their characters makes his flaws even more noticeable.

Overall, David Dimaguib is worthless to me because of his arrogance, irresponsibility, violent behavior, and lack of development. These qualities not only cause conflict in the story but also hinder viewers' connection with him. For me, his character symbolizes negative traits that are easily compared to better characters, making him undeserving of sympathy. Ultimately, David's worthlessness becomes part of the overall message of "Batang Quiapo lastly he want to get the Caballero's Money but he don't deserve this because he don't threat Katherine in a good way and he killed Facundo the lolo of Katherine and he was not the real Hesus Nazzareno and he is a bad person that's why he don't deserve the Caballero money.

I thought they'd deviate from The Probinsyano's formula. Turns out they followed the exact same formula and THEN branded it under a different name. It's the exact same series with the god awful dialogue, Cardo is called Tanggol(...why am I surprised) and his rebelliousness is still there under the guise of "I want to protect you." There's another way to solve problems, guys. The rest of the cast also have cookie-cut personalities so...

Just watched the latest episode and even the villians are so predictable, why? Because they dictate every single thing about their plans, the flow of the script automatically directs you in only one direction and you expect us to think this is good storytelling? I thought I would be rooting for the villians in this, but no, they're also equally bad if not worse.

Every once in a while, I'd take a break from the usual and check out the local, mainstream movies or shows to see if I'm missing out on anything. As it turns out, it's the same old in the world of local entertainment. The shows from the three networks are still dominated by noontime shows, talk shows, news shows, singing talent search shows, cooking shows and soap operas while the movies are also mostly the same, either porno, comedy or those love team oriented films for teenyboppers. This means it's the same old garbage. Lately, the local media is once again promoting the newest output from the trash heap. The latest offering from ex indie porno actor turned soap opera star, turned "action star" Coconut Martin is just another pathetic attempt to cash in on the legacy of Filipino action king Fernandez Poe Jr. All the corny elements that made the previous show, FPJ's Ang Probinsyano are in this: the stupid close ups, the soap opera style story structure, the mushy melodrama.

I never really bought into the Coconut Martin hype and this is why. It's simply sickening that mainstream media is behind this trend to further dumb down the moronic masses. It's also ludicrous and sad that Filipino entertainment has sunk to an all time low, thanks to the cutesy antics of the geny lopez and attorney gozon networks. Their dumb shows have infantilized, and significantly delayed the mental development of several generations of Filipino millennials. It's an epic tragedy that a massively idiotic tv series would spawn another pitiful and heinous show starring and directed by mister coconut.

Batang Quiapo is more of the same melodramatic, low I. Q. mush like FPJ's Ang Probinsyano but with a bigger budget. My advice: go watch something else. Buy a wifi black box and subscribe to a streaming service. There's a few like Prime Video, Disney+ and HBO Go where you can watch better shows and movies for a very cheap fee. Stop patronizing the two major networks in the country, you simply line the pockets of their executives by watching their rubbish programs.