WHO IS THE real mother: the woman whose blood the child carries, or the woman who carried the child?

That’s the question at the center of ‘Sa Piling Ni Nanay,’ GMA Network’s new family drama about surrogacy, and it’s bringing three familiar faces back together. Yasmien Kurdi, Mark Herras, and Katrina Halili, alumni of the first batch of ‘Starstruck,’ GMA’s reality talent search, reunite in the series, which premieres June 27 after ‘Hanggang Makita Kang Muli.’

In a press statement sent to ElysPlanet, the network said the show “tackles the story of a surrogate mother and her selfless love for the daughter she carried.”

The Story

Yasmien plays Ysabel, a single mother to her loving daughter, Maymay. She works as a personal assistant to Scarlet, a socialite played by Katrina. Scarlet can’t bear a child, so she convinces Ysabel to be her surrogate, and Ysabel agrees because she needs money for Maymay’s bone marrow transplant.

Halfway through the pregnancy, Maymay dies unexpectedly in an accident. Consumed by depression and loneliness, Ysabel breaks the surrogacy agreement, flees with the baby, and raises her as her own, naming her Maya in memory of the daughter she lost.

Mark plays Jonas, a bachelor secretly in love with Ysabel. His love turns to hatred when she takes Scarlet’s child, who is also the grandchild of his aunt, Matilda.

As Ysabel and Scarlet fight over Maya, the series asks who really has the right to her: the mother by blood, or the mother who gave birth to her? Is blood thicker than love?

Mark Herras, Yasmien Kurdi, and Katrina Halili.

The Cast

Seasoned actress Nova Villa plays Matilda, Scarlet’s rich mother-in-law, who is desperate for a grandchild. Bettina Carlos is Wanda, Scarlet’s OB-GYN friend who agrees to carry out the surrogacy. Antonio Aquitania plays Rod, Ysabel’s abusive live-in partner, and Sofia Jayzel Cabatay plays Maya, the child born through surrogacy.

‘Sa Piling Ni Nanay’ is directed by Gil Tejada Jr.

Mark Herras, Sofia Cabatay, and Yasmien Kurdi.