Mano Po 2: My Home

Mano Po 2: My Home is a 2003 Filipino drama film directed by Erik Matti. It is the second installment of the Mano Po film series, followed by Mano Po (2002). It stars Susan Roces in the leading role. It was also the first Mano Po film that was not directed by Joel Lamangan. It was one of the official entries to the 2003 Metro Manila Film Festival and garnered five awards.

Plot
Antonio Chan, a businessman, sires children with three different women: Sol, a native Filipina who begets Janet, Grace and Lean; LuShui, a Chinese woman who was bethroted to Antonio during a visit to China in the 1980s and the mother of Rose; and Belinda, a Filipino-Chinese woman who is the mother of Ingrid and Erickson. Sol reluctantly allows the two women to live in their household, but her relationship with Antonio deteriorates. After Sol gives birth to Lean, Antonio accuses her of being impregnated by someone else while he was in China, which prompts her to move out. As her daughters follow, Janet is run over. Sol tries to help, but Antonio banishes her from the household and takes custody of their daughters, who are subsequently raised by Belinda. Sol raises Lean alone in the province as Antonio cuts off contact with them and refuses to recognize Lean as his son. LuShui also drifts away from Antonio, leaving Belinda as Antonio's only companion over the years.

In the present, Antonio is killed during a robbery. His ensuing wake and funeral leads to the gathering of his wives and children. Belinda, as Antonio's last partner, tries to dominate the funeral proceedings, stirring resistance from both LiShui and Sol, who have become friends. She also tries her best to monopolize Antonio's inheritance, going as far as to evict LuShui from her residence and bar Lean from attending the funeral. The growing family tensions force Belinda's secretly pregnant daughter Ingrid to move out, leaving behind his brother Erickson, an anxious young man dominated by her mother, who disapproves of his relationship with her Filipino girlfriend Yna.

After Erickson allows Lean, as Antonio's first-born son, to lead the funeral honors, Belinda resolves to prevent Antonio's other children from receiving their inheritance. Her insinuations lead to his brother, Johnson, who is married to a now-paralyzed Janet, to frame Sol for Antonio's murder, leading to her arrest by corrupt policemen. A suspicious Grace, who is sympathetic to Sol and LuShui, investigates and discovers the truth, leading to Johnson and his accomplices' arrest and Sol's release. Janet, who grew up hating Sol, leaves Johnson and reconciles with her mother, while Belinda denies involvement and narrowly avoids criminal charges.

Grace tells Lean and Sol that while investigating, she learned from a friend of Antonio's that he had finally acknowledged Lean as his son after running a DNA test on him, and had revised his will to give part of his estate to Lean to atone for his absence. Lean forgives Antonio after reading an emotional letter addressed to him by his father shortly before his death. As Sol and LuShui's families celebrate New Year's Eve together, Erickson, stressed out by the family conflict and by Belinda warning off Yna, fatally shoots himself in front of his mother, plunging Belinda into depression. She is later comforted by Sol and LuShui.

A year later, Ingrid returns with Antonio's grandchild as Sol, LuShui and a contrite Belinda celebrate the New Year together with their now-reconciled families.

Cast

 * Susan Roces as Sol Parco-Chan
 * Kris Aquino as young Sol Parco-Chan
 * Christopher de Leon as Antonio Chan
 * Lorna Tolentino as Belinda Keh
 * Zsa Zsa Padilla as LuShui Chou
 * Judy Ann Santos as Grace Parco Chan
 * Carmina Villaroel as Janet Chan-Cua
 * Jay Manalo as Johnson Keh-Cua
 * Cogie Domingo as Lean Parco Chan
 * Richard Gutierrez as Erickson Keh-Chan
 * Alessandra De Rossi as Ingrid Keh-Chan
 * Karylle as Rose Chou Chan
 * Chynna Ortaleza as Yna
 * Angel Locsin as Melissa Ching
 * Zoren Legaspi as Rodrigo
 * Efren Reyes Jr. as Madiang
 * Crispin Pineda as Fidel
 * Raquel Villavicencio as Atty. Chiongbian
 * Orestes Ojeda as Pio Andres
 * Val Victa as Atty. Lester Que

Production
While Susan Roces was the original choice to play the first wife, the Filipina Sol, the role of the third wife was mired in controversy. The contested role, the Chinese mestiza Belinda, was originally offered to Dina Bonnevie. However, Lolit Solis, manager to both Christopher de Leon and Lorna Tolentino, threatened to pull out her talents if the role was not given to Tolentino. The role was ultimately given to Tolentino; Bonnevie, who would have played the role of the second wife, the Chinese immigrant LuShui, bowed out of the production citing that she would not fit the role of a pure Chinese character. Zsa Zsa Padilla replaced Bonnevie in the film.