5 days ago
2
Upgrade to High-Speed Internet for only ₱1499/month!
Enjoy up to 100 Mbps fiber broadband, perfect for browsing, streaming, and gaming.
Visit Suniway.ph to learn
Charmie Joy Pagulong - The Philippine Star
June 20, 2025 | 12:00am
From the mushy to the lighthearted scenes, the lead cast of “Seducing Drake Palma” shared their favorite parts from the Wattpad novel written by Ariesa Jane Domingo, a.k.a. “Beeyotch,” which they are set to reimagine on screen. Viva One’s series adaptation is helmed by Crisanto Aquino (“My Future You,” “Write About Love”).
The newest Viva One offering is now streaming on the platform with 16 episodes.
“Seducing Drake Palma” revolves around Drake (played by Rabin Angeles), the type of guy who can sleep through class yet still gets perfect scores in exams. He is a transfer student, but doesn’t make an effort to be friendly. Though he acts aloof, girls still swoon over him. He doesn’t take any of them seriously.
Angela Muji plays the funny and strong-willed Alys Perez. She is secretly in love with her best friend who is now brokenhearted. She cannot stand to see him suffering, so Alys agrees to his request to seduce Drake and keep him away from his ex. The possibility that she could genuinely fall for him is the furthest thing on her mind.
As Alys pursues Drake, his cousin, a frustrated photographer, enters the picture. Tripp Marco Palma, played by Dylan Menor, lives by the mantra, “go with the flow.” He’s into motorcycles, music … and upon meeting Alys, he’s also into her. This is bound to stir things up between him and Drake, whom he is secretly envious of.
Rabin and Angela brought kilig to the presscon with their banter, as they recounted their most unforgettable scenes.
The main cast with (from left) Frost Sandoval as Kent, Yumi Garcia as Aya, the show’s director Crisanto Aquino, writer Ariesa Jane Domingo, Sara Joe as Shaira, Rafa Victorino as Kei, and Ethan David as Sheen, during a presscon.
For Rabin, the kissing scene with Angela’s Alys was his most-liked sequence in the series. He credited direk Crisanto for guiding them in that particular scene. “Direk was really good. I was really surprised. He guided us on what to do. That kiss was very different,” he narrated at a presscon.
“In series or movies, a kiss is usually on the lips. But in this scene, written by Ms. Ariesa, my character kissed her on parts of the body mentioned in the book that hadn’t been kissed yet, because he thought it was her first kiss. That’s my favorite scene so watch out for how we did it.”
Angela reacted to Rabin’s comment, “Gaya-gaya ka. That’s what I’m about to say.” She added that when she read the book, she screamed because of kilig. “It’s cute. And the acquaintance party is also my favorite scene. It was unexpected na sasayawin siya (that he would dance with her). Sobrang nakaka-kilig po talaga (It was so kilig, really.”
Rabin then teased her, “Kinilig ka?” Angela replied with a laugh, “Yes!”
As for Dylan, he said that the part where Drake made Alys cry a couple of times was unforgettable for him. “Sa swing. That was the time when Drake made Alys cry five times. It’s kinda sad but that’s one of the things that you should watch out for.”
Meanwhile, direk Crisanto attested to the natural chemistry of Rabin and Angela on set and on screen. He recalled, “When they look at each other, you could see in their eyes that it’s real. So effortless ang kilig ng dalawang ‘to… very natural. If you saw the trailer, there are some scenes na palaging close-to-the-nose (kiss).”
The lead cast members would usually do one take in executing those scenes, he continued.
Rabin, known for his breakout role as Yuri Hanamitchi in the beloved series “Ang Mutya ng Section E,” admitted that he was anxious about essaying a major role in his latest series. Hence, he thoroughly prepared for his character as Drake. He extended his gratitude to the bosses at Viva for entrusting him with such a huge responsibility. “This is a big project that I never thought would happen this year. It unexpectedly came. Thank you, Lord, to my family and everyone,” he said.
Following the successful run of “Ang Mutya ng Section E,” directed by Theodore Boborol, direk Crisanto confessed that he is actually pressured to keep up with the former.
“Before I started ‘Seducing Drake Palma,’ I sent a message to direk Theodore. I said, ‘Kuya Ted, wish me ‘good luck.’ Para mabigyan ako ng blessing. I’ll try to follow your footsteps because ‘Ang Mutya ng Section E’ was very successful.’
“The pressure is really there, hindi mawawala. That’s why we could never go wrong. Everything should be done right. We had to study everything that we do.
“I just came from a film fest, and I need to double the effort to show that everything we’re doing is right.”
Completing the “Seducing Drake Palma” cast members are Ethan David as Sheen Mendoza, Rafa Victorino as Kei Chui, Yumi Garcia as Aya Pineda, Frost Sandoval as Kent Valdez and Sara Joe as Shaira Silos.
They are joined by seasoned actors, Mark Anthony Fernandez as Steve Palma, Drake’s father; Christopher Roxas as Andy, Alys’ stepfather; and Lander Vera Perez as Cyriel, Alys’ biological father, and actresses Denise Esteban as Katrina Palma and Nikka Ruiz as Dana.
