The Holy Week is one of the most important times of the year for many Filipinos. Aside from having our well-deserved break from the hustles and bustles of our daily life, this is also the period when we feel closer to God as we commemorate the passion of Jesus Christ and reflect to see if how we’ve been living our lives still align with His teachings through partaking in religious activities and/or having prayer time and quiet introspection.

As we contemplate on our actions and repent from the mistakes we’ve committed, and, at the same time, grant our forgiveness to those who wronged us, let the touching scenes of repentance from teleseryes in this Kapamilya Time-List feature inspire us to have a forgiving heart and be humble enough to ask for forgiveness.

Being with our families for almost our whole lives, it’s indeed inevitable for us to have misunderstandings and get into fights with them. While we tend to simply disregard how they feel because we are certain that they will always forgive us without apologies and embrace us with their unconditional love, there are teleserye characters that remind us how important it is to say “sorry” to them as well and promise to not commit the same mistakes again.

We’re able to see that in Walang Hanggan (2012), wherein the once antagonistic Doña Margaret (Helen Gamboa) finally apologized to her grandson Daniel (Coco Martin) after giving him away when he was still a baby and making his life miserable when their paths once again intertwined.

In FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano (2015-2022), we really felt the overwhelming love of Cardo (Coco Martin) for his wife Alyana (Yassi Pressman) as he told her how sorry he was for all his shortcomings as her partner in life and for bringing her into a chaotic life which cost her her beloved family and her dream job. Yet he promised to love and take good care of her and not leave her side.

Brothers Calvin (Nash Aguas) and Enzo (Jerome Ponce) from The Good Son (2017-2018) didn’t always have a thorn in their relationship. But in a sudden twist of fate, that changed when Calvin confessed his involvement in the death of their father, which truly bewildered and infuriated Enzo. The latter might have a difficult time bestowing the former his forgiveness, but it was his being a Kuya that still prevailed as he chose to understand his condition and to love him still.

The same went for sisters Samantha (Shaina Magdayao) and Ana (Julia Montes) in Asintado (2018), wherein the latter accepted the apologies of the former for not being able to fulfill her obligations as an ate as she let hatred and envy towards to dominate her heart. At the same time, Ana also apologized for all the things that she did that inflicted pain on Samantha.

We also got to witness the power of forgiveness among triplets Agatha, Erika, and Carrie – all compellingly played by Erich Gonzales – in The Blood Sisters (2018). After putting the lives of her loved ones on the line due to her selfish and vengeful schemes, Agatha expressed remorse for all her wrongdoings when she found out that it was also them who contributed to save her from death. Erika and Carrie forgave her and gave her a second chance, reminding her that she didn’t have to sacrifice her life just to pay for her mistakes and prove her sincerity.

Despite all the bad things that she had done to them, Lino (Jericho Rosales) and his family still chose to forgive Jade (Yam Concepcion) in Halik (2018-2019). For the sake of attaining peace in their hearts and of her son CJ, they gave her a second chance, which she promised not to waste. They may have had a lot of intense confrontations then, but her mother-in-law Dolor (Amy Austria) wished for her to fix her life and promised to take care of her son CJ.

Even though Daniela (Dimples Romana) attempted to eliminate them from the Mondragon family, Romina (Beauty Gonzalez) and her daughter Cassie (Francine Diaz) still chose to forgive her and considered her as family as she expressed remorse in the finale of Kadenang Ginto (2018-2020). Daniela also apologized to her daughter Marga (Andrea Brillantes), which the latter accepted and assured her that she still loved her no matter what.

Half-sisters Dana (Yam Concepcion) and Jia (Kim Chiu) also put an end to their longstanding hatred and disputes that caused them to lose the beloved men in their lives and the supposed beautiful relationship that they should have fostered in Love Thy Woman (2020). As Jia repented on the grave mistake that she committed to Dana, which was letting herself be in an illicit affair with her husband David (Xian Lim) that caused greater friction between them, Dana finally decided to forgive her.

They might have had a slew of heated altercations in the past, but Sky (Andrea Brillantes), Tania (Angel Aquino), Archie (Elijah Canlas), and Sasha (Desiree del Valle) of the controversial series Senior High (2023-2024) chose to leave all the bad things behind to have a fresh start. Archie and Sasha apologized to Sky and Tania and bade farewell to them as they’re about to move abroad, as well as thanked Sky for saving Z (Daniela Stranner).

Meanwhile, it might have taken her quite some time, not to mention be caught in an accident with her son Rico (Timothy Chan), to realize how she needed to let go of all the anger and envy in her heart, but Malena (Dina Bonnevie) proved that it would never too late for us to repent from our mistakes. She immediately went to the people whom she did wrong and told them how sorry she was, including her husband, Mayor Enrique D. Rodrigo (Albert Martinez) and her loyal friends Atong (Ogie Diaz) and Baby (Arlene Muhlach). And that’s all thanks to our wonder boy Santino (Zaijian Jaranilla) in May Bukas Pa.

Being the extension of our families, there are instances that we have also offended our friends, which sometimes lead to the severance of ties. Just like what happened between Marissa and Ellice in Ang Sa Iyo Ay Akin (2020-2021), who, from being best friends, had gone to become each other’s greatest rivals. As Marissa suffered for Ellice’s past mistakes, the egotistic Ellice bore the hate and vengeance of Marissa. Ellice eventually realized the weight of what she had done and decided to make amends with Marissa and her family for all the pains she had caused them. The two might not be able to bring back the beautiful friendship they once had, but both of them chose to bury the hatchet in the end.

They may be one of the greatest nemeses we’ve ever seen on TV, but Ivy (Maja Salvador) and Emilia (Aiko Melendez) were able to rekindle the friendship they used to have as they made peace with each other in the finale of Wildflower. Ivy didn’t simply pay the latter a visit in prison on her birthday, but also gave Emilia a cake and her forgiveness. She and her family might have made her life a living hell, but Ivy chose to forgive her because she believed that Emilia was still a good person who deserved a second chance. Besides, she also offered to be her friend who would help her turn her life around.

And lastly, we got to witness the tremendous power of forgiveness through the journey of Sophie Cepeda (Janella Salvador) in the inspirational series Oh My G! (2015). While many of us find it impossible to forgive the person who killed our loved one, Sophie astonishingly chose to forgive the man who murdered her beloved father. During the trial of the case, she bravely faced the culprit, Emmanuel (Nonie Buencamino), and told him how painful and infuriating it was for her to suddenly lose her dad. However, she was already tired of carrying those negative emotions, so she decided to just let go and grant him forgiveness since she knew in her heart that it was what her parents wanted her to do as well.

May these teleserye stories help us realize the power of forgiveness and repentance, which enable us to not just let go of the burdens that we’ve been carrying with us, but to also become the better versions of ourselves as we strive to correct our mistakes, address our shortcomings, and change our bad habits.