IF there’s one thing that people know about Filipino teleseryes, it’s that these often have common themes: husbands cheating on their wives, people finding out they were born into a rich family, and a whole lot of getting slapped in the face. 

However, a usual plotline in these shows is most often centered around cheating: a wife cheating on their husband, a boyfriend on their girlfriend, and the list goes on. There are so many teleseryes like this that they’ve been labeled “kabitseryes” or “kabitan seryes.”

Hell, there are so many of them that people have no problem ranking them, whether it be through ratings or actual quality. 

“This theme has been used many times over and usually follows the same plot showing the rise and revenge of the legal wife,” writer James Patrick Anarcon of PEP says.

“Through the years, it has gained a massive following.” 

Honestly, I can’t blame TV writers and executives for continuing to push shows like these. Based on how these shows gain millions of views and are often the most watched on their block… while it’s a formula that’s repetitive, it’s one that works.

Why, then, do I still think it’s an issue?

Real life-copycat

Here’s the thing: infidelity is not only common in the media that we consume. It’s scarily common in real life, too. 

In a report from Manila Standard (2015), it was found that marital infidelity is one of the biggest stressors for Filipino couples, with about 36% of men and 2% of women cheating on their spouses. At the time, there were at least 22 cases of extramarital affairs being filed daily. 

One can only wonder how much those numbers have increased since then. 

If you’re unfamiliar with the Media Effects Theory, here’s one important tenet that it teaches people: that the media that an audience consumes, a lot of the time, may lead to their behavior getting influenced. 

Why do you think people place so much emphasis on what children should watch while they’re young? Based on this theory, one’s values, judgment, and conduct, can all be altered with the use of media modeling. 

In summary: people often tend to copy the things that they see. Watching violence leads to violence, watching cheating leads to cheating, and so on. 

Take, for example, the gruesome news that broke out in May last year of a teenage boy who’d shoved his four-year-old nephew in a washing machine. Upon further investigation, it was found that he was a huge fan of the serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, who coincidentally just had a Netflix series made about them a year prior.

If people can be influenced through the media to commit crimes as heinous as murder, who’s to say they won’t do the same with cheating, as well?

At this point, seeing people cheat in a teleserye is something that’s become so ordinary that we don’t even bother to bat an eye. If anything, it’s something we expect to see happen. 

It’s gone beyond just teleseryes and films—often we’re also shown real-life examples, too, given the cases shown on “Raffy Tulfo in Action” or “Face 2 Face.” 

If it’s become that normalized, who’s to say that some of us don’t tolerate it in real life, as well? 

If you’re gonna do it, do it right

There’s much more to be said about the negative impact of being exposed to infidelity practically 24/7. 

There’s the conversation to be had on whether continuing to produce films and shows centered around this theme helps to perpetuate the so-called “querida system,” as seen in how often we see a man being doted on by his loving wife and his sensual mistress. 

Here, it’s not the man that’s put at fault; if anything, it’s the women that we see continuously butting heads with one another, trying their best to show who loves their man most despite the awful situation he’s thrown them into. 

There’s also the conversation to be had on whether infidelity-centered media helps to contribute to the rampant machismo/macho culture in the Philippines, wherein instead of being shamed for cheating, men are often lauded for doing so.

But those are discussions for another day. Today, my main point is this.

I have no right to say that we should get rid of the kabitserye genre altogether, no matter how harmful I may find it. The truth of the matter is that shows like these have high ratings because the masses like them, perhaps even resonate with some of them. 

My only hope is that, at least, producers should use these as a means of elevating storylines instead of just throwing it in there because it’s what’s expected of a teleserye.

One of my favorite examples of this elevated storyline is the 2018 film “Ang Dalawang Mrs. Reyes,” where two women – Cindy and Lianne Reyes – find out that their husbands are having affairs with each other. 

First, it’s a unique concept because oftentimes, what we see in teleseryes with infidelity is the usual love triangle of man, mistress, and wife. 

Second, cheating isn’t all the film is about. It’s a heartwarming story about love and acceptance and even teaches its audiences about the discrimination the LGBTQ+ community faces daily. 

As seen in the Media Effects Theory, people get many of their ideas from the shows that they watch. My suggestion is to use films like “Ang Dalawang Mrs. Reyes” as the blueprint. 

Filipinos will watch infidelity flicks, there’s no doubt about it. So, to all the writers out there: use that to your advantage by hooking them in with infidelity and using it to teach them about important issues moving forward… kind of like, hiding broccoli in your kid’s mac and cheese. 

Though I don’t think there will ever be justification for cheating, I do believe that if you’re going to do something, don’t half-ass it. Do it right.