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Charmie Joy Pagulong - The Philippine Star
February 11, 2025 | 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — Donny Pangilinan and Belle Mariano couldn’t help but gush about their beautiful experience in La Union, where they filmed the romcom “How to Spot a Red Flag.”
The two tried surfing, which La Union is known for, got a taste of local cuisines there and experienced the warm hospitality of the locals.
“Belle never surfed before. She never did lessons and stuff. I did surfing before but I was surprised to see Belle, nakatayo na siya, even though it was her first time,” Donny told The STAR at a mediacon.
The waiting part while surfing was the fun part, added Donny. “How to spot a wave, that’s what they were saying. We have to wait for the right wave so that we can go up on the board. And she did it, ang galing niya.”
‘How to Spot a Red Flag’ stars Donny Pangilinan and Belle Mariano at a mediacon. The romcom series is now airing on primetime TV after it premiered on Viu.
Filming in La Union was a different feel and vibe as compared to Binondo, where they shot “Can’t Buy Me Love.” Donny recalled, “When we were there, ‘OK, this really determines what the show is (‘How to Spot a Red Flag).’ It’s super light, super refreshing. It’s literally a breath of fresh air and I’m so glad that they chose the perfect spot for it. It’s far but it’s worth it going there.”
They also went to see the various tourist spots and ate in a couple of restaurants. “And they have a very, very unique culture there that even the arts scene is growing rapidly, the food scene. And yeah, we just enjoyed it so much to a point na every time we would go there, we would always try to find new stuff to do and places to go.”
Aside from surfing, Belle went to a waterfall which is a 30-minute jeepney ride from their shooting location.
“I think those were our bonding moments, not only with Donny, but also the entire cast. We really became close. Nakakatuwa nga kasi I was able to try new things like it was me getting out of my comfort zone,” beamed Belle.
Although Belle is not a beach girl, she fell in love with La Union as soon as she got there. “At first, I said ang layo ng byahe but ‘pag nakatapak ka na ng La Union, parang ayaw mo ng umuwi,” she said. “It was so beautiful. I fell in love with the place, community and everything.”
“How to Spot a Red Flag” revolves around the story of Cha (Belle), a free-spirited barista who falls victim to a catfishing incident involving two gorgeous looking men, who also happen to be best friends, Matt (Donny) and JR (Jameson Blake).
The light-hearted and feel-good series airs weeknights at 9:30 on Kapamilya Channel, A2Z, and TV5. The series is also currently streaming on Viu, with fresh episodes dropping every Monday and Tuesday at 12 midnight.
Apart from bringing it to the audience, Belle was delighted that they were able to impart learnings to the viewers through the show. “Especially nowadays na talagang andaming trolls online, andaming scammers online. We have to be extra careful. And we’re glad to be able to communicate that through this show,” she offered.
Donny, on the other hand, recalled that a scam incident happened to his family in real life.
“People would fake our family on Facebook and other platforms and then they would ask for money. And naniniwala yung mga ibang members namin. So, they will give and we have to trace the person. So, we’ve experienced it firsthand. So, it’s something very scary,” he shared.
Luckily, they were able to trace the scammer. He recounted, “I think what we did was we sent money to the person and sabi namin let’s meet at this location. And then the police were there. There were a couple of people who got the money talaga. So, we were able to catch them.”
“It happens more often than not,” warned Donny. “Even with my family, like there were some people na they would think na they were in a relationship with my sister, pero hindi naman pala talaga yung kausap. So, it’s scary, you know, and stuff… And we have to be careful.”
