# Ang Tanging Ina

Ang Tanging Ina (lit. 'the only mother') is a 2003 Filipino comedy film directed by Wenn V. Deramas and starring Ai-Ai delas Alas and Eugene Domingo. It was the highest grossing Filipino film until it was surpassed by Sukob in 2006. Each film was produced or co-produced by Star Cinema.
The film's success spawned a television series of the same name and three sequels entitled Ang Tanging Ina N'yong Lahat, Ang Tanging Ina Mo (Last na 'To!), and Enteng ng Ina Mo.
The film references the story of a widowed mother who has 12 kids. And the social sacrifices of parenthood in a comedic and dramatic manner.

## Plot

Ina has four children with each of her three husbands: Tony (who dies after falling from a stool), Alfredo (who dies after falling in a cinema), and Kiko (who is electrocuted at their wedding reception). After Kiko's death, Ina decides not to remarry.
Ina wakes up to find her twelve children: Juan, Tudis, Tri, Por, Pip, Six, Seven, Cate, Shammy, Ten-Ten, Connie and Sweet facing various problems. She then discovers her family is in deep financial trouble and takes on multiple jobs, from construction to selling bootleg DVDs, to support them.
Ina is reminded of her debut by Por, and allows Juan to find work. Juan's chores at home confuse Ina. Her ex-driver, Bruno, suggests she work at a strip club for money. Juan encounters his ex-girlfriend Jenny at an amusement park and applies for a job there. Tudis quits her job to become an artist, and Tri tries to impress his girlfriend's parents with his intelligence. Por tries to get her crush, Jeffrey, to escort her to her debut. Pip, a closeted homosexual spies on his crush, Nhel. Six invites their mother to a retreat, and Seven leads a school program about mothers. Shammy tries to hide that he is uncircumcised, but Pip accidentally reveals this to Nhel, causing Shammy to hate him.
Ina's attempts to help her children backfire: she prevents Juan from marrying Jenny, Tudis refuses to help her find work, she reveals her stripping job to Tri and his girlfriend's family (causing their breakup), she fails to provide Por's lavish debut, and she disrupts Six's “church retreat” after mistaking it for a “trick or treat,” also learning that Pip is gay. Seven has not told Ina about the school program, fearing further embarrassment. Cate reveals Ten-Ten is deaf, and Shammy becomes ill after a botched circumcision. Ten-Ten then goes missing. Ina, still in her stripper outfit, rushes to the hospital to be with Shammy, causing her taxi driver, Eddie, to fall in love with her.
During a family meeting, Ina's emotional explanation for taking on multiple jobs backfires, leading Juan to run away with Jenny. Rowena comforts Ina, who now worries about how to fix everything. After quitting her stripping job, Ina notices a suicide bomber on her bus. She alerts the other passengers and helps them evacuate before fighting the bomber. She escapes the bus just before the bomb detonates, killing only the bomber and leaving her with minor injuries. When news of the bus bombing reaches her family, they mourn a covered body in the hospital, believing it's Ina. However, she appears unharmed. She then resolves her family's problems: allowing Juan to date (but not marry) Jenny, convincing Tudis to return to work and Gretchen to reunite with Tri, accepting Pip's sexuality, being forgiven by Six, allowing Seven to complete her program, forgiving Shammy (who recovers), and finding the deaf Ten-Ten at a church.
At Por's smaller debut party, Eddie is launched into the air by a firecracker in his pocket. Ina reveals he survived and married her, but the incident left him unable to have children. The end credits show the family learning sign language to communicate with Ten-Ten.

## Cast

* Ai-Ai delas Alas as Ina Montecillo: Ina is the wife of Alfredo, Tony, Kiko, and Eddie, and is Juan, Tudis, Tri, Por, Pip, Six, Seven, Cate, Shammy, Ten-Ten, Connie and Sweet's mother. She is Rowena's best friend. She loves her children very much, and will do anything to fulfill their desires. She has worked as a construction worker, pirated DVD seller, vendor, stripper, and other jobs you can think of. She later becomes the savior of several passengers in a bus explosion. In the end, she solves all the problems of her children, and her children becomes proud of her once more. She also marries Eddie, but they can't have another child because of Eddie being involved in a fireworks accident.
* Eugene Domingo as Rowena, Ina's best friend. She is very supportive towards her, and will do anything to make Ina happy.
* Marvin Agustin as Juan Montecillo, Ina's first child. He has graduated from college, and is the helper of the family. When Juan reveals to his mother that he has proposed to Jenny, Ina scolds him, and he pleads Jenny to join him in escaping their families. In the end, Ina forgives him, and he and Jenny continued their relationship. Years later, they migrate to New Zealand for a new life.
* Nikki Valdez as Gertrudis "Tudis" Montecillo: Tudis is Ina's second child. A college graduate, she was the only one in the family who was working. She then decides to quit her job, and pursues her desire to become an artist. In the end, she takes her job back, and is contented to be one of the helpers of her family. Years later, she migrates to Canada where she meets the man of her life.
* Carlo Aquino as Dimitri "Tri" Montecillo: Tri is Ina's third child. He is a smart student in his college, and was dating Gretchen. But when Gretchen's parents figured out his mother was a stripper, Gretchen breaks up with him. This spoils him, and decides to drop out of school. In the end, Ina fixes their relationship, and he and Gretchen get back together. He also decides to continue his studies.
* Heart Evangelista-Escudero as Portia "Por" Montecillo: Por is Ina's fourth child. She has a sassy personality along with a girly flair to her nature, and also has a crush on Jeffrey. She was the one giving her mother the heaviest problem of all, for she desires the "perfect début". In the end, she had her début, with her family and friends invited. She also decides to break up with Jeffrey years later, before migrating to Dubai as a missionary.
* Alwyn Uytingco as Tirso "Pip" Montecillo: Pip is Ina's fifth child. He is secretly gay, and his family doesn't know it either. He is in love with Nhel. In the end, Ina accepts his personality, and he & Nhel begin dating.
* Marc Acueza as Sixto "Six" Montecillo: Six is Ina's sixth child. He is a smart student, and is fond of declamations and orations. When he invites his mother to a church retreat, Ina misinterprets it as a "trick or treat" event, humiliating him. In the end, he forgives his mother. Years later, he migrates to United Kingdom to work there as a nurse.
* Shaina Magdayao as Severina "Seven" Montecillo: Seven is Ina's seventh child. She is also an intelligent student, and is very fond of essays and programs. But when she becomes the leader of a program with the theme "Bakit Natatangi Ang Aking Ina (Why My Mother Is Very Special)", she becomes afraid Ina will humiliate her. In the end, she finishes the program, and becomes proud of her mother once more.
* Serena Dalrymple as Catherine "Cate" Montecillo: Cate is Ina's eighth child. She is a bit of a tomboy, and doesn't attend her school frequently. She causes some of the problems of her siblings such as Six's retreat and Ten-Ten's disappearance.
* Jiro Manio as Samuel "Shammy" Montecillo: Shammy is Ina's ninth child. He is a frequent target of bullying in his school due to him being uncircumcised. In order to avoid humiliation, Shammy takes matters to his own hands to be circumcised by an unlicensed doctor for PHP 50. This causes him to have high fever, another problem to the family. In the end, he says apologizes to his mother for being impatient, and later recovers.
* Yuuki Kadooka as Martin "Ten-Ten" Montecillo, the deaf-mute tenth child of Ina. Cate horrifies Ina after telling her of his condition. He was also lost one morning, worrying his family. Later on, Ina finds him in the local church. Also in the end credits, his family teaches him the sign language to communicate with them.
* Kaye Abad as Jenny, Juan's college girlfriend. Eventually, they become co-workers at an amusement park. Later on, Juan proposes to her, which she accepts. After Juan was scolded by his mother, they both escape their families and lived their own life. But after finding out Juan wasn't ready yet, they both decide to return to their respective homes. In the end, she and Juan continued their relationship. Years later, she and Juan migrated to New Zealand for a new life.
* Angelica Panganiban as Gretchen, Tri's high school girlfriend. She comes from a rich family, wherein her parents gives the best for her. After her parents find out Ina was a stripper, she decides to break up with him. Later on, Ina pleads to her to continue her relationship with Tri. In the end, she and Tri get back together.
* John Prats as Jeffrey, Por's high school crush. He also becomes Por's escort at her début. Years later, Por breaks up with him. In the second tanging ina, he became the boyfriend of Seven at first Ina doesn't agree with their relationship but comes to understand it in the end.
* Dennis Padilla as Eduardo "Eddie" D. Montenegro, a taxi driver whom Ina met when Shammy was in the hospital. He was in love at first sight with Ina. He was later involved in a fireworks accident, damaging his bottom. He marries Ina, but because of the accident, they can no longer have another child.
* Edu Manzano as Antonio "Tony" A. Montemayor, Ina's first husband. He is Juan, Tudis, Tri & Por's father. During a gamble, Tony is blocked by spectators. He stands on a stool, trying to see the two fighting spiders. He later outbalances, breaking his spinal cord & column.
* Tonton Gutierrez as Alfredo B. Monteagudo, Ina's second husband. He is Pip, Six, Seven & Cate's father. He had a fatal fall from an overpass, breaking his back.
* Jestoni Alarcon as Francisco "Kiko" C. Montecillo, Ina's third husband. He is Shammy, Ten-Ten, Connie & Sweet's father. During their wedding day, the bell's ribbons were electrified accidentally. Thus, when he pulled the ribbon, he was killed shortly.
* Pinky Amador and Mandy Ochoa as Gretchen's parents. They are well-behaved, and will give anything for their daughter. At first, they liked Tri, but when they saw Ina as a stripper in the club, they convinced their daughter to break-up with Tri.
* Andoy Ranay as Bruno. He former worker at bus company. Now work at bar gay. In 2nd sequel, he work at director by shooting. In 3rd sequel, he was a pastor.
Uncredited:
* Connie & Sweet Montecillo: Portrayed by twin baby girls, Connie & Sweet are minor characters in the film.

## Release

Ang Tanging Ina was released on May 28, 2003.
On June 3, 2003, 500 moviegoers watching the film in one of the theaters at SM City Manila panicked and rushed outside the cinema when a scene that features a bus explosion coincided with the loud drilling of construction workers a floor below, causing audiences to assume that a bomb exploded in the building.

## Sequel

In 2008, the Star Cinema brought the second installment of Ang Tanging Ina film series which still starred Ai-Ai de las Alas, Eugene Domingo, and several others. The film revolves around Ina (Ai-Ai de las Alas) who lately became the President of the Philippines and overturns the Philippines by ruling it into a whole new dimension of enjoyment which eventually causes her many serious problems about the country and with her family as well.

## Television adaptation

After the original film's phenomenal success, a TV sitcom was produced on ABS-CBN. It aired from August 17, 2003 to January 30, 2005, replacing Home Along Da Riles and was replaced by Goin' Bulilit. All of the actors who portrayed members of Ina's family return with the exception of Alwyn Uytingco who was replaced by Ketchup Eusebio.

### Cast

* Ai-Ai delas Alas as Ina Montecillo
* Marvin Agustin as Juan Montecillo
* Nikki Valdez as Getrudis "Tudis" Montecillo
* Carlo Aquino as Dimitri "Tri" Montecillo
* Heart Evangelista-Escudero as Portia "Por" Montecillo
* Ketchup Eusebio as Peter Tirso "Pip" Montecillo
* Marc Acueza as Sixto "Six" Montecillo
* Shaina Magdayao as Severina "Seven" Montecillo
* Serena Dalrymple as Catherine "Cate" Montecillo
* Jiro Manio as Samuel "Shammy" Montecillo
* Yuuki Kadooka as Martin "Ten-ten" Montecillo
* Eugene Domingo as Rowena
* Dennis Padilla as Eddie
* Roderick Paulate as Goliath, Ina's long-lost brother
* Tuesday Vargas as Kring-Kring
* John Estrada as Geronimo Madlang-tuta
* Archie Alemania as Richard
* John Prats as Jeffrey, Portia's Boyfriend
* Angelica Panganiban as Gretchen, Tri's Girlfriend
* Anne Curtis as Barbie (Portia's friend)
* Geoff Eigenmann as Portia's suitor
* Alwyn Uytingco as Tirso "Pip" Macaspac (Guest Appearance)
* Alma Moreno as Ness
* Elizabeth Ramsey as Ina's Mother
* Freddie Webb as Elvis, Ina's long lost Father
* Edu Manzano as Tony/Alexander
* Jestoni Alarcon as Kiko
* Regine Velasquez as herself
* Maricel Soriano as Julia
* Jericho Rosales
* Dolphy as Kevin Cosme (Crossover Character from “Home Along Da Airport”)