In this very first episode of Maalaala Mo Kaya aired on May 15, 1991, Romnick Sarmienta plays Allan, a social climber who is ashamed of his impoverished state and pretends to be well-off to blend in with his rich friends in school. His father, a street sweeper, works very hard to meet his luxurious needs. Only when it is too late does Allan realize that money does not necessarily make a man happy.

After serving fifteen years in prison for murdering her brother-in-law, Dolor is finally freed and eventually turns to her sister Pilar for vital support as she starts anew. With years of resentment and grief standing in the way of the sisters' reconciliation, Pilar tries desperately to retain her hold over Dolor's uncertain future, especially when the child that she raised as her own grows increasingly fond of the real mother he never knew.

What will happen if a father and his sons are all seduced by one woman? Gaspar, Tomas, and David did not hesitate to accept the beautiful Corazon into their lives. Although theirs is no peaceful home because of Gaspar's attitude, Corazon's entrance shatters what little remains of their family relationships. Tomas is the sensible one who protects the family assets from the covetous Gaspar and David. Nevertheless, Corazon joins in this deadly game of greed, and she holds the strongest card for she enraptures even the docile Tomas.

Phil was looking forward to a lovely summer until his girlfriend breaks up with him. To evade the loneliness, he goes on a vacation in a beautiful resort on a remote island. Phil realizes he isn't alone when ghostly sightings of a couple begin to hound him. The sightings turn into flashes of scenes that seem to convey messages from two dead lovers that were murdered on the island.

Though a single parent and a poor washerwoman, Rosalia did not allow the threat of being left alone to compel her to discourage her son from having a relationship with a girl. But when romance knocks on Rosalia's door, Billy responds with rage. At her mature age, Rosalia never expected to be torn between listening to her son's valid reasoning and rewarding her sacrifices by succumbing to a kind of joy she has not experienced in a long time.

Having been exposed to the heartaches of a broken home, Lulu vowed that her marriage would last a lifetime. She carries out all duties of a wife, but a diagnosis of infertility soon arms her with insecurities. Despite Arnel's devotion, Lulu accuses him of having affairs including one with her best friend Emma. This ugly episode inevitably leads to separation. When Lulu returns after a few years, she faces the consequences of her mistakes and painfully recalls a vow that has become broken.

Though her obligations extend only to her mother, Neneng works to support her half-siblings out of her kind nature. But worse than having her body exhausted, Neneng's feelings are bruised seeing her mother constantly beaten up by her stepfather. After her mother's death, Neneng focuses her attention on her orphaned siblings. But when her stepfather's behavior affects the innocent children, the docile Neneng unexpectedly contemplates on violence.

When the war broke out in Kuwait, lovers Mon and Olive were forced to abandon their means of livelihood and return to the Philippines. Although Mon's mother warmly welcomed him back, she is distressed at the thought of losing a financier and gaining another mouth to feed. She begins to probe into Olive's flaws until she discovers a scandalous secret. Mon and Olive eventually learn that they escaped war only to find themselves entangled in an emotional battlefield.

An innocent little boy Noel is loathed by his father's family because he is the fruit of his father's infidelity. His half-sister Elena opens her heart to Noel and finds an angel underneath the illegitimate child's battered body. Despite being treated with outright cruelty, Noel amazingly mends their broken home and offers his life to protect the family who considers his existence a disgrace.

Francis and Corazon are delirious with joy as they experience love and romance for the first time. But before they could set their feet back on the ground from cloud nine, Francis and Corazon learn that a baby was on the way. They are then forced to adjust to their new life as parents, learning mundane responsibilities and the demands of domesticity. Amidst these grueling changes, the young couple evaluates whether their feelings are genuine or merely a fleeting puppy love.

Allen and Jane's relationship is viewed by society as odd. Allen is born deaf-mute with Jane serving as his interpreter. They both discover that love is not exclusive to people in normal circumstances. As they explore the boundaries of true love, Allen and Jane are forced by the people around them to make a reality check.

Though barely at the right age, Cecile did not dread the news of her pregnancy, for she and Mike fell in love and they could start a beautiful life together. Suddenly, Mike disappears before Cecile's belly grows, and his brother Anthony enters the picture and makes a noble proposal to marry Cecile and spare her from disgrace. Out of spite, Cecile marries Anthony, only to find out later the actual reason behind the sinister setup.

With marriage as the only recourse for a better life, Linda marries draftsman Senyong despite his mother's violent objection. Soon Senyong is offered a job in Saudi, and Linda feels their dreams are finally coming true. The happy dream soon turns into a nightmare, as her mother-in-law tells Senyong about Linda's imaginary infidelity, slowly breaking her family apart.

Similar to many prostitutes foregoing morals for money, Myrna dreams of one day leaving this despicable trade to start a new life. When she meets Chuck, a loving American, Myrna knows this dream is about to turn into reality. For a woman with a harrowing past with a chance to be loved for who she truly is, Myrna is yet to learn that respect is tough to earn, especially in a discriminating society.

Like a true friend, Polly adopts his friend Annette after she is impregnated and abandoned by her boyfriend. In the course of living together, Polly watches their friendship take a different, confusing turn as he finds himself drawn to Annette in a special way. What he thinks is impossible because of his preference for men is about to take him by surprise.

Elsa never knew her life would be as colorful as the stories in the love comics she devours in her free time. Reading comics is her means of escape from the harsh reality of her life as a housemaid to a vicious landlady. Much to the old landlady's dismay, her son notices Elsa's good looks and falls in love with the lowly maid. When this development in Elsa's life begins to resemble the stories from her comics, she realizes that happy endings are not always true in real life.

As a homemaker, Lenny can be considered perfect. She has excellent skills in cooking, an eye for gardening, and a fine taste for household interiors. As a wife, Lenny is loyal and loving, but she is forever flawed in one significant aspect: she is barren and incapable of fulfilling Ben's dream of having a son. In spite of this, Ben and Lenny led a happy marriage until the latter found out that Ben got their housemaid pregnant.

A notorious man goes as far as assaulting his sick wife and raping his young daughter. His son Lando is respected by many for his kindness yet learns of his father's revolting crime. In spite of his inherent benevolence, Lando is compelled to take justice into his own hands and exact revenge on his vicious father.

Baby is an old maid who has given up on the possibility of finding love. Her time is spent manning the shop her family owns and scolding the workers for every minor mistake. Her mundane days as a spinster take an overwhelming turn when worker Ricky takes an interest in her. Though handsome and charming, Ricky is not a safe choice for a reserved woman like Baby, but before she could realize this, she is led into a dangerous and passionate romance.

As a nun and high school principal, Sister Guada expected nothing but a serene life. The only life she has outside her peaceful abode is in the field as she does volunteer work to help less fortunate people. After meeting Dino, a new professor, she finds herself in an unlikely role as an object of a man's affection. Can Sister Guada resist spending a little time with Dino knowing that it may lead to a lifetime of regret?

Despite the huge age gap, Tessie and Delfin's union blossomed into a blissful relationship. Tessie helped Delfin get over a marriage that bitterly ended long before Tessie was born. In turn, Delfin was devoted to his young wife whose childhood was far from pleasant. It was a marriage made in heaven until they learn of a despicable secret intertwining their past.

Despite the fact that he is merely an adopted son, Fernan dedicated his life to the service of his surrogate family. He worked hard to fend for his parents and siblings. Even after falling in love and exceeding the ideal age for settling down, he continued to devote himself to his abusive family. His longtime girlfriend Aida tried to share in Fernan's long-suffering character, but her patience eventually wore out.

Despite her family's physical and emotional abuse, Maria Eden still strives to excel in school, believing that academic achievement would bring her closer to them. Soon, her efforts pay off and she graduates at the top of her class, but will her valedictorian medal be enough to make her family love her and be proud of her?

Rosa never forgot the day her father abandoned their family. In fact, it is intense anger toward him that directed all her decisions in life. Rosa travels to the city to search for her father. Blinded by hatred, she foregoes her morals and exhausts all means to gain wealth and power. With her new prominent position, Rosa begins her attack, starting with her father's new wife. As she gets close to accomplishing her mission, Rosa is gripped with a painful realization that she is still devoid of peace and joy.

For Artemio and Celia, the best Christmas gift they ever got was baby Emmanuel. The adoption fulfilled Artemio's longtime dream of building a family, for he was sterile. However, Emmanuel was soon diagnosed with incurable brain damage. Celia's compassion prompted her to raise Emmanuel despite his mental incapacity, but Artemio grew cold towards her and their son. Will this family ever celebrate Christmas in the same joyous manner as when they first got together?

Emmie's family enjoyed a typical rustic bliss in the province — a happy home with responsible parents and well-behaved children. Beneath the picturesque life, however, lurks the danger brought on by the hushed mutiny of the armed guerilla residing in the mountains, and the danger becomes real when Dennis, Emmie's intellectual brother, decides to take a revolutionary stand.

Rose's father makes the sweet gesture of purchasing a cottage with a fishpond for his wife, Cita. Because of Cita's weak heart, her husband deems their constant retreat into a serene place with fresh air helpful to her. Like her parents, Rose is happy with the new hideaway as she meets her prospective first love, Roger the caretaker. While this family is dreaming of blissful days ahead, the handsome Roger is blinding them with his irresistible charm.

After five years of separation, Jerry and Monica reunited through a twist of fate. Their son Jake needed special care after an accident, and this is impossible for Monica to provide alone, given the demands of her job. Now that the estranged couple is under the same roof by any chance, would Monica and Jerry dream of a life together once again?

When Raquel's wealthy adoptive parents died, she lived with Amanda whom she knew all her life as her nanny. Amanda was ecstatic at this opportunity to spend time with the daughter she was deprived of for a long time. However, Amanda is faced with a dilemma of whether to divulge the truth to Raquel for she is guilty of giving Raquel up, thinking that a life of luxury is what everyone needs in order to be happy.

A man and a woman fall deeply in love but outside the boundaries of their individual marriages. Lucille is the kind of wife any man dreams of having, but her own husband Ben is far from ideal. She is convinced that she is bound to spend her life in this miserable marriage until Dave enters the picture. Despite the fact that Dave and Lucille found happiness in each other, they ponder on whether it is possible for forbidden love to be true love.

The memory of their grueling initiation rites triggers Dale's sympathy for the neophytes in their fraternity. But unlike Dale, Jojo is determined to take advantage of his new post as frat master. Jojo believes that the true mark of a man lies in his willingness to increase his threshold for pain. As these two friends face the responsibility of heading the fraternity, they have yet to prove if their purpose is a brotherhood or mere male egotism.

Lorna hates her father because his irresponsibility led to the demise of Lorna's mother, but the hatred turns into genuine loathing when he rapes her. Lorna reaches the threshold of her patience and turns her father over to the police. And now that she is given the chance to start a new life, will the ghosts of her past finally cease to haunt her?

For Isabel, nothing is more painful than seeing her own mother neglect her sick father in favor of a young man who makes sexual advances at Isabel herself. To escape her dismal home, Isabel takes her nursing internship in a distant province where she meets a great guy. But how can Isabel build a new life for herself if her emotional foundation is built on wretched memories?

LA-based businessman Gabby falls for Lisa the instant he lays eyes on her, but the tomboyish lady mechanic does not share his infatuation because she has no interest in men at all. This is the despair of her older brother Ramon, who wishes to see Lisa suitably settled as soon as possible because of his secret terminal illness. Is Gabby the one meant for Lisa, the one who would take care of her the way Ramon has all these years?

When Irene got pregnant after college, she married Rex but remained unwilling to put her plans on hold. She passes on the responsibility of being a homemaker to her sister Karen as she pursues her dream of building a career. Irene never expected that her selfish ambition would turn her into an outsider in her own home and that Karen would fit perfectly into the roles that Irene abandoned.

After working hard for ten long years to ensure his family's future Mariano comes home from America with a terrible secret: he has contracted AIDS abroad. Soon his family finds out about his illness, and his sister Mila, whom he has sent to school and has become a successful doctor, decides to keep him under lock and key-isolated like some banished leper in his own home.

Cecile and Paul are good friends that made a bad decision to marry each other in order to fulfill someone's dying wish. Since Paul is in love with his girlfriend Tricia, Cecile allows them to carry on a relationship, until Tricia demands something greater than Paul could offer and Cecile could bear.

As a former model, Marina had her share of admirers and ended up marrying the best catch, the handsome and devoted Ramon. The marriage is wonderful at first, but inside the four walls of their bedroom, Ramon is ruthless and blinded by raving insecurity. When Ramon opted to kill their unborn children out of fear that the babies will take Marina's attention away from him, Marina finds herself trapped in a hellish marriage while developing special feelings for Ramon's mute assistant, Danilo.