Ang Syota Kong Balikbayan

Cathy Anjanette Abayari returns from the US to pursue a modeling career and to donate her inherited property to her tenants in accordance with her grandmother’s wishes. She meets with her uncle Facundo, who reveals his plan to sell off the property he shares, and asks for Cathy’s permission—a request she refuses. On her way to live with her aunt Agnes and cousin Tino/Tina in the working-class community that has sprung up at the property, she rear-ends a jeepney driven by Nanding Fernando Poe Jr., sparking an argument made tougher by the fact that Nanding cannot understand Cathy’s English. Cathy even manages to charm the police into having Nanding jailed.

A few days later, while Cathy is jogging, she encounters Nanding—bailed out by his friends—and discovers he lives in the same neighborhood. A fresh clash due to the language barrier follows, only for Cathy to be confronted again by misfortune when driving later and hitting another vehicle. When she is bullied by the occupants of that car, Nanding intervenes and drives them off, and Cathy’s attitude toward him begins to soften. After Tino/Tina informs her that Nanding is truly a good-hearted person, she resolves to make amends.

Tino/Tina arranges a first meeting between them, with Cathy apologizing to Nanding in Filipino. Over dinner, Nanding and Cathy bond in the presence of Tino/Tina and Nanding’s friend Steve. They head off to fetch a group of club workers led by Digna, unintentionally transporting diamonds stashed by criminals Frankie and Maxie inside Nanding’s jeepney. At the club, Cathy unknowingly triggers Digna’s jealousy, who then kisses Nanding right in front of Cathy. Learning that Nanding has no feelings for Digna, Cathy accompanies him to fetch Digna and kisses him as a public statement of her growing affection.

Cathy’s jog returns her to a point where she and Nanding clash again, this time in a brawl that Nanding ends. Digna ends her ties with Nanding and calls Facundo, who plots to force Cathy to sign the property over. To cool things down, Nanding serenades Cathy with the help of Janno Gibbs and Randy Santiago. Cathy falls in love with Nanding and shares her intention to donate the land to their community. Digna, posing as a reconciler, lures Cathy to her house where a goon hired by Digna plans to rape her. Cathy notices the drink is drugged and escapes, fleeing to find Nanding and cling to him for safety.

Facundo and Digna escalate their cruelty by arranging Cathy’s abduction, sending goons led by Frankie and Maxie to hold her until she signs away her rights—and to kill her afterward. Their hideout, an old, abandoned mansion, turns out to be haunted; at midnight, monsters and vampires attack and slaughter the goons one by one, leaving Frankie and Maxie as the last threats. Nanding, informed by Tino/Tina, arrives at the mansion with Steve and rescues Cathy after a brutal fight with the monsters. Frankie and Maxie escape again and collide with Facundo and Digna on the road, who realize their plan has failed and flee, leaving Frankie and Maxie to be arrested.

Back at his garage, Nanding is confronted by a gang of robbers seeking revenge for a prior failed heist. Cathy, Steve, Nanding, and the jeepney drivers rally to beat the gang. Cathy completes the donation of the land, while Nanding discovers diamonds hidden in his jeepney and receives a reward. In the end, Frankie and Maxie are left in a prison cell, where a vampire from the mansion attacks them, sealing the harrowing, supernatural twist that threads through an otherwise grounded tale.

Last Updated: October 09, 2025 at 09:32