Los Bastardos

Los Bastardos (lit. 'The Bastards') is a Philippine television drama series broadcast by ABS-CBN. The series is based on the Filipino pocket book novel Cardinal Bastards by Vanessa, the series is the twentieth and final installment of Precious Hearts Romances Presents. Directed by Raymond B. Ocampo, Carlo Po Artilliaga, Mitch Valdes, Digo Ricio, Ludwig Peralta, Roderick P. Lindayag, Catherine O. Camarillo and Ethan Pugiotto, it stars Ronaldo Valdez, Jake Cuenca, Marco Gumabao, Albie Casiño, Joshua Colet, Joseph Marco (seasons 2-3), Diego Loyzaga (season 1), and Gloria Diaz. It aired on the network's Kapamilya Gold line up and worldwide on TFC from October 15, 2018 to September 27, 2019, replacing Precious Hearts Romances Presents: Araw Gabi and was replaced by Sandugo. The series was inspired by Fyodor Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov.

Los Bastardos is based on the Cardinal Bastards series of Precious Hearts Romances Presents. The story follows the lives of five brothers struggling with one another for their rightful place in their father's heart. The root of their conflict stems from betrayals and secrets surrounding the individuals surrounding Don Roman Cardinal.

Don Roman is the illegitimate son of Don Ismael Cardinal, a wealthy sugar cane plantation owner of the fictitious region of Victorino in the rural outskirts of Manila, Philippines. He reunites with his father as an adult, eventually inherits his father's hacienda and starts a life with his small family when tragedy strikes and he loses his wife Soledad and son, Roman Jr.

Despite the tragedy, Don Roman pursues their dreams to expand and diversify the Hacienda and build a liquor distillery using ingredients from his sugar cane produce.

Throughout his unhappy and lonely life, Don Roman builds a successful empire and sires five sons from four different women. All his sons inherit his handsome physique, tenacity, superior physical strength and astuteness that serves them well in their respective fields, but two sons do not benefit from his inherent kindness because of the family environment they grow up in.

Roman Jr, later known as Isagani, is Don Roman's legitimate firstborn son with his wife Soledad, his true love. Don Roman and the town folks fear his young family perished in the mudslide. Soledad slips him into a passing produce truck. She pins her wedding ring on his shirt praying it would lead him to his father someday, but she fails to get on the truck as it picks up speed to escape the oncoming mudslide. The child is raised by the farmers who discover the infant in their truck. Isagani Esperanza inherits his father's good qualities of kindness, compassion and bravery, as well as his father's physical strength, entrepreneurship and unique taste buds, essential for developing fine brandy. He formulates an arrack he calls Coco Brandy, when he was a student in Manila. Isagani buys a small coconut farm to set up his own distillery. He has the opportunity to realize his dreams when he is sought after by two major distilleries to partner with: the Cardinals and Silverios. Isagani chooses to partner up with the Cardinals because he admires Roman's kindness and fairness. A bond forms between Roman and Isagani though neither are aware of their kinship.

Joaquin is Alba Santillan's son. Alba is a spoiled heiress obsessed with Roman but fails to win his affection. She gets rid of Soledad and her infant by pushing them off the cliff. While grieving for Soledad, she seduces him one night and then tells him she is pregnant with his second son, Joaquin. In truth, she is already pregnant by her parents' gardener, Enrico. Roman loves the infant like his firstborn, and brings Alba and their son to live in his estate where he is raised as Roman's natural son. He never marries Alba but allows her to live as the mistress of the mansion for the sake of their son. Among the five brothers, Joaquin is the only son who grows up under his care. Joaquin has a strong and loving relationship with his father and inherits his father's fairness and kindness. Joaquin does not have the malevolent and selfish traits of his mother. He grows up to lead the management team of Cardinal Distillery, loved by all. Alba tries her best to poison Joaquin's mind against Isagani, but Joaquin's innate goodness prevails and he decides not to listen to his mother. He leaves for America to sort out his feelings, but tragedy struck when Joaquin died in a plane crash on ill-fated flight of LAKAN AIRLINES LAK271 or Flight 271 on his return. Alba's liaisons with the gardener is revealed at his memorial services. Despite the revelation Roman mourns Joaquin's passing and sends Alba away.

Matteo is Maddie Asuncion-Silverio's son. Maddie is the emotionally abused socialite wife of Menandro Silverio and sole heiress of the Asuncion fortune. Drawn to the lonely Don Roman, their affair produces a son, Matteo, but she ends their relationship and raises the child as a Silverio, business rivals of the Cardinals; Aware of his wife's and Roman's betrayal, Menandro uses Matteo as his secret pawn for revenge against them. He raises the child to fear him, devoid of character and moral values, encourage his greed and teaches him to despise the Cardinals. Matteo yearns for his father's approval but never gets it as his father is abusive to his children and wife. Matteo grows up in a household filled with cruelty, hatred, and fear.