PRODUCTION and PLOT

Production

Most of the scenes in May Bukas Pa are taped in the 4th class municipality of Bacolor, Pampanga This includes its municipal hall, bank, public market and its church (San Guillermo Parish Church) which creates the fictional town of "Bagong Pag-asa."

Plot

Set in the fictional town of Bagong Pag-asa (Filipino for "New Hope"), the story revolves around Santino (Zaijan Jaranilla), an orphan abandoned as a baby in a graveyard where he was found by the old sexton. The sexton brought the baby to the priests of the nearby monastery. The priests raised the child, and Santino grew into an adventurous young boy.

As Santino wandered one day into the cemetery, he found a dirty statue of Jesus Christ, standing with arms wide open. Santino noticed the wounds on the palms and feet of the statue (a reference to the Holy Wounds into which the nails bore through during the Crucifixion). Remarking that Jesus was hurt, Santino takes the monastery's first aid supplies and used them to treat the statue's wounds. The statue came to life and becomes Santino's friend and confidant. Santino affectionately calls Jesus the modern nickname, "Bro" (short for brother).

When Santino's friend Joy (Phebe Khae Arbotante) turns ill and dying, he seeks the mercy of Bro, and prayed for a miracle to continue Joy's life. Bro then bestows Santino the power to heal sick and disabled people. The priests and Joy's parents, a couple who work as cops, witnessed Santino praying for the miracle which immediately healed Joy. The news of the miracle was heard across town. People who sought healing for their illnesses and disabilities came to the monastery and Santino heals them one after another.

The new town mayor, Enrique Rodrigo/Gonzalvo Policarpio (Albert Martinez), lusting for money, drives him to claim the land where the monastery stands, on where he could build a casino. He starts by attempting to put the monastery to bankruptcy. He sends mercenaries to rob the church's funds and destroy the monastery's farm. Although he diminished the monastery's financial resources, the townspeople offered aid to the priests after discovering their loss.

Enrique then hears about Santino's ability to heal people. Believing that Santino brings luck to the monastery, he starts his plan to take him away from the priests by sending social workers to assess the boy's condition in the monastery. Enrique made them believe that the priests were abusing Santino by forcing him to heal people. Worsening the events, a jail escapee kidnaps Santino in order to heal his sick child. After Santino was rescued from the kidnapper, the social workers decided that the monastery is unfit for Santino to live in, and he was taken away from the monastery. He was brought to an orphanage where he would be waiting for parents to adopt him.

A couple comes to the orphanage planning to adopt Santino. Santino overhears the husband telling his wife about his plan of using Santino to earn money by healing rich people with illnesses. Santino then flees from the orphanage and rode inside a vegetable delivery truck. He then arrives in another town, where he finds care from Berting Aragon (Robert Arevalo), a puto vendor. Santino befriends Berting's biological granddaughter, whose father, Jojo, loathed Berting for leaving him and his mother for another woman, years ago.

Meanwhile, Enrique sends mercenaries to find Santino. They find the boy and attempt to abduct him, but he was rescued by Jojo, who was stabbed and was rushed to the hospital. There he realized Berting's fatherly love for him, and with Santino's help, Berting and Jojo reconciled. Jojo then drives Santino back to the monastery in Bagong Pag-asa. The custody of Santino was returned to the priests.