1 week ago
3
!hola - MJ Marfori - The Philippine Star
March 8, 2025 | 12:00am
If Thailand has BrightWin, while South Korea has a gazillion shipped love teams, the Philippines finally has JayFer of “Ang Mutya ng Section E.” The latter is short for Jay-Jay and Kiefer of the Viva One Wattpad adaptation of the same title written by Lara Flores, a.k.a. Eatmore2behappy.
The series just premiered last January. What started as a lighthearted title within a single classroom has now taken the world by storm. “Ang Mutya ng Section E” (AMNSE) has now grown into a cultural phenomenon that has captured hearts worldwide.
AMNSE is topbilled by showbiz royalty Andres Muhlach as Mark Keifer Watson, the class president of Section E, and rising star Ashtine Olviga, who plays Jay-Jay (short for Jasper Jean), a transfer student at Higher Value International School.
Their undeniable chemistry and great execution of their roles in the series appeal to local and international audiences. If you swipe up on TikTok or other social media platforms, chances are you’ll be hit by the Ppop group GAT’s hit cover of Daleng-Dale, which is making huge waves with many foreigners dancing to it and reacting to scenes and pictures of the JayFer tandem.
What started as a lighthearted title within a single classroom, 'Ang Mutya ng Section E (AMNSE)' has now grown into a cultural phenomenon that has captured hearts worldwide.
Ashtine told us that they were pleasantly surprised by the never-ending tags and how their kilig transcended cultures. “Ang dami, grabe nagugulat kami ang daming edits, yung lengwahe iba na. Pati music iba na. Natutuwa kami kahit sa comments sections po namin iba ang language na gamit,” she said.
We are very happy for Ashtine because she revealed then that her life is fast changing for the best, thanks to “Ang Mutya ng Section E.” She did not have work for more than half a year and was contemplating moving on from showbiz.
“Before po ‘Ang Mutya ng Section E,’ seven months po ako walang work. So, nasa province lang po ako noon sa Quezon,” shared she.
Andres Muhlach and Ashtine Olviga’s undeniable chemistry and great execution of their roles as Mark Kiefer and Jay-Jay in ‘Ang Mutya ng Section E’ appeal to local and international audiences.
Good thing that our girl held on tight as she has proven that patience is key in showbiz and timing, talent and persistence will get one that breakout role.
Before “AMNSE,” Ashtine started way back in 2016 and was part of two girl groups. Her acting journey actually started with a Sarah Geronimo movie, “Miss Granny” (2018), which seemed like a nod to the route that the young actress would eventually take.
It was followed by several movies where she played supporting roles to Julia Barretto’s “Will You Be My Ex” (2023) and MarVen (Marco Gallo and Heaven Peralejo)’s “The Ship Show” (2023).
Andres as Mark Keifer Watson, the class president of Section E with Ashtine as Jay-Jay (short for Jasper Jean), a transfer student at Higher Value International School.
From there, she starred in ensemble cast movies such as the horror “Marita” (2023), led by Louise delos Reyes and Rhen Escaño, as well as playing the young version of Gelli de Belen in the latter’s successful reunion movie with Janice de Belen, Carmina Villarroel and Candy Pangilinan, and “Roadtrip” (2024).
Ashtine played another young version of Sunshine Dizon’s character in the Philippine adaptation of the hit Korean movie, “Sunny” (2024), together with Vina Morales, Angelu de Leon, Heaven Peralejo and Bea Binene.
Wow, right? Now, she just recently held her fan’s day at Viva Café back in late February and she could not believe the success. Whenever Ashtine or Viva posts about the title or the behind-the scene and dance trend entries, the videos always get more than a million likes and mostly more than 10 million views. Massive, isn’t it?
Andres and Ashtine’s co-star Rabin Angeles, who was discovered by director Jason Paul Laxamana years back, has also been an ace for Viva. They did cast him as Yuri Hanamichi, a JaPinoy and Keifer’s best friend who has a soft spot for Jay-Jay in the show.
The kid also developed a massive following since “Ang Mutya ng Section E” was launched. Like Ashtine, all his social media posts on TikTok rack up over a million likes and views in just one entry. He also has thousands of fan edits from around the world.
Personally, his charm reminds me of the young Mark Anthony Fernandez. But with today’s ultra-fast content push and social media, I’m pretty sure he will propel to further heights and a more diverse and bigger fan base here and abroad, which is already starting.
The challenge now is to continue the streak and to strike while the iron is hot on how to have audiences in different cultures and backgrounds appreciate the Pinoy kilig and charisma we uniquely possess.
“Ang Mutya ng Section E” streams on the Viva One app.
