The General's Daughter is a 2019 Philippine television drama action series broadcast by ABS-CBN. Directed by Emmanuel Q. Palo, Mervyn B. Brondial and Darnel Joy R. Villaflor, it stars Angel Locsin in the title role. It aired on the network's Primetime Bida line up and worldwide on TFC from January 21 to October 4, 2019, replacing Ngayon at Kailanman and was replaced by Starla.
Plot 2nd LT Rhian Bonifacio is an AFP Military Nurse dedicated to save lives. Beneath her benevolent exterior, however, lies a secret - she's a spy, trained by her very own father, "Heneral" Santiago Guerrero, to exact revenge against his sworn enemy, BGen. Marcial de Leon, the commander of the Northern Command of the AFP.
Unbeknownst to Rhian, she has been living a lie - that the father she has known and loved all her life was the enemy all along and has trained her to be used as a weapon against her real father. Having been indoctrinated to believe in the nobility of Tiago's cause, Rhian will be caught in the crossfire between Tiago's cell and the AFP. Rhian will find herself struggling between her love for her false family and the dictates of her conscience.
Cast and characters
Main cast Angel Locsin as 1st Lt. Rhian "Uno" Bonifacio, PA / Arabella de Leon / Diana Guerrero Ashley Sarmiento as young Diana / Rhian Francine Diaz as teen Rhian Tirso Cruz III as Lieutenant General Santiago "Heneral Tiago" Guerrero Sr., AFP Bernard Palanca as young Tiago Albert Martinez as Brigadier General Marcial de Leon, AFP Joseph Bitangcol as young Marcial Janice de Belen as Amelia Montemayor-Guerrero Roxanne Guinoo as young Amelia Eula Valdes as Corazon de Leon Meg Imperial as young Corazon Paulo Avelino as Franco "Dos" Segismundo Brando Axl as young Franco Louise Abuel as teen Franco Arjo Atayde as Elijah "Elai" Sarmiento JC de Vera as Maj. Ethan del Fierro, PA Ryza Cenon as 2nd Lt. Jessica "Jessie" de Leon-del Fierro, PA Maricel Soriano as Isabel "Nanang Sabel" Sarmiento Jeffrey Santos as Colonel Michael Dalagan, PA Richard Quan as Colonel Sherwin Esguerra, PA Jett Pangan as Colonel Jonathan Eulogio, PA
Supporting cast Loisa Andalio as Claire del Fierro Ronnie Alonte as Ivan Cañega Art Acuña as Armando Segismundo Rino Marco as young Armando Archie Adamos as BGen. Lorenzo Buencamino, AFP Richard Manabat as BGen. Orlando Mangiliman, AFP Cholo Barretto as 1st Lt. Joselito "Jopet" Ramirez, PA Kim Molina as 2nd Lt. Maria Lilybeth "Billet" Abarquez, PA Tess Antonio as Cora Apostol May Bayot as Fedelina Catacutan Amy Nobleza as Lea "Ekang" Apostol Anne Feo as Helen del Fierro Marc Santiago as Santino "Santi" M. Guerrero Avery Balasbas as Aradella "Ara" De Leon Nico Antonio as Andrew "Andoy" Apostol Kate Alejandrino as Lt. Adelina Manlangit, PA Rafael "Paeng" Sudayan as Papi Jim Bergado as Barog Lilygem Yulores as Joselyn John Steven de Guzman as Tom-Tom Luz Valdez as Gloria Patrick Quiroz as Amir
Guest cast Ruben Maria Soriquez as David Pascal Menggie Cobarrubias as Mayor Manuel Sta. Maria Leo Rialp as Oscar Villavicencio Rolly Inocencio as Mang Eugene Jomari Angeles as Caloy Dido de la Paz as George Catacutan Kiko Matos as Salvador "Buddy" Banzon Rendon Labrador as Lt. Joseph Peralta, PA Giovanni Baldisseri as Roman Esguerra Dionne Monsanto as Vera "Ms. Poison" Sangre Jong Cuenco as Bernardo "Mr. Mogul" Tuazon Nonie Buencamino as BGen. Gregorio "Greg" Maximillano Jerome Ponce as young Greg as Capt. Alexandra "Cuatro" Noblejas, PA Tart Carlos as Bekbek Apollo Abraham as Tiago's lawyer Ces dela Cruz-Guevara as Elvira Ricaforte Wilmar Peñaflorida as Tiago's henchman Claire Ruiz as Tintin Chai Fonacier as Irene Patrick Sugui as Banjo Lou Veloso as Amor Darwin "Hap Rice" Tolentino as Tomas Mark "Big Mac" Andaya as Jack Mercedes Cabral as Senator Gabriela "Cinco" Sta. Ana Victor Silayan as Zandro "Tres" Abellanosa / Wilson Montino Javi Benitez as Vladimir Lejano Emilio Garcia as Mayor Dante Velario Rochelle Barrameda as Irma Velario Lara Morena as Adelfa Dimaranan
Broadcast The General's Daughter premiered on January 21, 2019, which was simulcast worldwide on iWant and YouTube. The show aired on ABS-CBN's Primetime Bida evening block and worldwide via TFC.
Before the conclusion of the show, it was picked up by the Myanmar-based Sky Net which airs the same over Myanmar.
Reruns Reruns of The General's Daughter were aired on Kapamilya Channel from June 15, 2020 to January 15, 2021, replacing the rerun of Walang Hanggan on former ABS-CBN's timeslot and was replaced by the rerun of Asintado.
The series had reruns on Jeepney TV from May 16 to September 16, 2022, replacing the rerun of The Wedding and was replaced by the rerun of The Blood Sisters. It also aired simultaneously with ALLTV from December 2, 2024 to August 8, 2025, replacing the rerun of On the Wings of Love and was replaced by the rerun of Ang sa Iyo ay Akin.
Production Casting The initial cast of the series, which included Angel Locsin, Maricel Soriano, Janice de Belen, Eula Valdez and Ryza Cenon who had just transferred from the GMA Network, was announced by Dreamscape Entertainment Head Deo Endrinal via Instagram on April 12, 2018. The series would be officially unveiled in November 2018 during ABS-CBN's Family is Love trade event.
The series was first developed around 2014 or 2015, and underwent numerous changes before making it to air in 2019. The biggest change made being that the Rhian Bonifacio character was supposed to be a member of the Navy Seals, which was different from the member of the Army Nurse Corps that the character ended up becoming.
Angel Locsin was the first and sole choice for the role of Rhian Bonifacio. According to Dreamscape's creative head, Rondel Lindayag, only Locsin had the angst to portray the character perfectly. However, Locsin could not accept the role early in its development because she was tied to star in a Darna which was supposed to have been directed by Erik Matti. Locsin would eventually be forced out of the role after suffering a disc bulge on her back. Thereafter, Locsin did not star in another TV series to rehabilitate her back as well as having gone through a break-up with former boyfriend Luis Manzano; the lone exception thereto being a supporting role in La Luna Sangre, which was a sequel to the Locsin-starrers Lobo and Imortal.
The role of Marcial de Leon was originally offered to Cesar Montano, who declined the role as he was, at the time, the COO of the Tourism Promotion Board, an attached agency of the Department of Tourism. Richard Gomez was next approached to play the role, but he likewise turned down the offer in order to prepare for his bid for reelection as Mayor of Ormoc. Lastly they tried to offer Christopher de Leon to play the role but most likely declined it in order to prepare his TV Show in GMA Network TODA One I Love. The role would eventually be begged by Albert Martinez who was then a part of Kadenang Ginto, he'd later appear concurrently on both shows.
The series was billed as the "biggest teleserye of 2019" in terms of the cast, the mounting of the drama, the mounting of the action, and the mounting of the interaction between components of the story.
Reception During its near 9-month run, The General's Daughter was a consistent top rater, second only to perrenial ratings hit FPJ's Ang Probinsyano. Its pilot rating of 34.0% was considered impressive considering that the episode aired on simulcast with its online platforms. The series would then register a higher number, 35.1%, on its second episode. The series would hit its peak on May 16, 2019, as it scored a rating of 36.7%. The show would make history on its September 6, 2019, episode as it placed number 1 on Kantar Media, displacing FPJ's Ang Probinsyano to number 2 for the first time since its debut in 2015; on that broadcast, The General's Daughter scored 32.8% to FPJ's Ang Probinsyano's 32.4%. The series would conclude on a high note, registering a rating 35.9%.
Accolades Year Recipient Award-giving Body Award Result 2019-2020 Angel Locsin Gawad Filipino Awards Natatanging Filipina sa Larangan ng Pag- Arte Mindanao State University Kabantugan Awards Most Favorite TV Actress Young Educators' Convergence of Soccsksargen Inc, (YECS) Aral Parangal Best TV Actress Alta Media Icon Awards Most Influential Female TV Personality 9th EdukCircle Best Actress in a TV Series 33rd PMPC Star Awards for Television Best Drama Actress Lion HearTV's Rawr Awards 2019 Actress of the Year Favorite Bida Gawad Lasallianeta Most Outstanding Female TV Lead Dramatic Actress 4th GEMS Hiyas ng Sining Award Highest Honors for Television (Aktres) 1st VP ChoiceTV Actress of the Year 51st Box Office Entertainment Awards Angel LocsinMaricel SorianoTirso Cruz IIIAlbert MartinezJanice de BelenEula ValdezPaulo AvelinoJC de VeraRyza Cenon Best Acting Ensemble in a Drama Series Tirso Cruz IIIAsian Academy Creative Awards Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Regional) Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Overall) 51st Box Office Entertainment Awards TV Best Supporting Actor Albert Martinez9th EdukCircle Best Supporting Actor Eula Valdez Best Supporting Actress Janice de Belen 33rd PMPC Star Awards for Television Best Drama Supporting Actress Arjo Atayde 33rd PMPC Star Awards for Television Best Drama Supporting Actor Ryza Cenon 9th OFW Gawad Parangal Best Supporting Actress Paulo Avelino 3rd Laguna Excellence Awards The General's Daughter Young Educators' Convergence of Soccsksargen Inc, (YECS) Aral Parangal Best Primetime TV Series Parangal Paulinian 2019 Natatanging Dramang Pantelebisyon Top 1 Teleserye on Twitter (April - July 2019) 5th EVSU - OCC Student's Choice Mass Media Awards Best Magazine TV Series 33rd PMPC Star Awards for Television Best Primetime TV Series Asian Academy Creative Awards Best Telenovela or Soap Opera Series (Regional) Best Telenovela or Soap Opera Series (Overall) Lion HearTV's Rawr Awards 2019 Bet na Bet na Teleserye The Platinum Stallion Media Awards 2019 Best Primetime Show 4th GEMS Hiyas ng Sining Best TV Series Anak TV Household Favorite TV Program
Notes
See also List of programs broadcast by ABS-CBN List of ABS-CBN Studios original drama series
References
External links