Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho: The first 20 years of taking flight

For the GMA Network Public Affairs team behind the hit magazine show, Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho, the best way to celebrate its first 20 years of storytelling is by making a promise to keep on flying high.

“Lumipad ang aming team” – the familiar spiel of award-winning host Jessica Soho that has tickled the fancy of Filipino audiences – has become a source of pride for the team, and a reminder of the show’s heritage of bringing stories with impact week after week.

“Over the years, it has been our goal na maging paboritong kakuwentuhan ng mga Pilipino, that our audiences turn to us as a special friend who is always ready to listen and share stories,” Soho says ahead of the show’s 20th anniversary special episode this Sunday, Nov. 10.

Soho adds, “Bago ‘lumipad ang aming team,’ nadapa-dapa muna kami, hanggang sa tumayo, naglakad, tumakbo, at ‘di na kami tumigil sa paghatid ng mga istorya.”

Today, the show also known simply as “KMJS” is an undisputed ratings juggernaut as Philippine TV’s number one program. It also dominates social media as the most followed Filipino show on Facebook, with a staggering 30 million followers. Online viewership in 2024 alone is already at 1.4 billion views on Facebook, 1.2 billion on TikTok, and over 1 billion on YouTube.

In terms of recognitions, KMJS is the most awarded news magazine program in the country, winning the prestigious George Foster Peabody Award (2014), as well as three awards in the New York Film Festivals, including a gold medal last year, among other local and international awards.

KMJS is also the sole Philippine program that has been featured in 60 Minutes Australia, BuzzFeed, and The New York Times.

Its pilot episode aired at about 5:40 p.m. on Nov. 7, 2004. Titled “Life is Beautiful”, the pilot featured a social experiment on Filipino beauty standards. What the KMJS team later realized, however, that life on the show is not always beautiful, so to speak, because producing it is definitely challenging.

Airing on prime time, KMJS puts out stories on an expansive range of topics with the goal of always reaching a wider audience.

“We like telling the stories of Filipinos, our stories. Anything and everything interesting na masarap pagkuwentuhan,” Soho said.

Major news events, relevant issues, the funny, the peculiar, stories that give voice to the marginalized in remote areas, stories that make people reflect on things happening around them, and more, are all part of weekly menu for KMJS viewers.

Asked about some of the show’s more memorable stories, Soho recalls her field coverage duties for breaking news events, particularly disasters.

She says these include her visits to ground zero in Leyte when Super Typhoon Yolanda struck in 2013; Bohol after it was jolted by a magnitude 7.2 earthquake that same year; Cagayan when it was inundated by floods during the height of the pandemic; and Talisay, Batangas as it was recently hit by a landslide amid Typhoon Kristine.

National headline stories are also brought to KMJS audiences, such as issues related to Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs), the transfer of PhilHealth funds, and extrajudicial killings during the drug war, to name a few. The show has also been keeping a close watch on environment stories, Soho says, reporting on issues such as the recent mining operations in historic Homonhon Island in Samar.

Unique mix

Integral to the story mix are lifestyle and pop culture stories on what’s trending with Pinoys, places to visit, food, Filipino traditions, love stories, unusual love stories, and even horror stories. All of these come together in KMJS for a unique magazine show that has been part of Filipinos’ Sunday viewing habit.

In telling these stories, the KMJS team learned and witnessed that stories have the power to change people’s lives.

Its story on babies switched at birth and reunited with their rightful families was the first documented case of baby switching in the Philippines. The story was pursued on the hunch of one of the mothers, with the team having the subjects DNA-tested.

Soho also recalls the stories of children with rare diseases, such as the severely malnourished Ranelyn who yearned to wear her bestida once more, and Daxxen whose ailment caused his skin and eyes to break. Daxxen later underwent surgery and his condition improved after the KMJS feature.

i-KMJS na yan!

The show is now in a position where stories come to the production team, with Soho offering its signature invitation to viewers – “i-KMJS na ‘yan!” The tagline was coined by GMA Public Affairs Ssenior Assistant Vice President Lee Joseph Castel, the show’s long-time producer who has been with KMJS since Day 1.

For Soho, the tagline allows audiences to “sort of ‘own’ and embrace the program, with stories coming from them.”

While life may not always be beautiful for the KMJS team, its members know that the success they enjoy today is a product of their hard work. With each triumph, they raise the bar that they need to surpass every single time.

Soho and her team are ready to do it all over again to soar even higher in the years ahead: “Patuloy po ang paglipad!”

Legacy of powerful storytelling 

For its 20th anniversary episode on Sunday, Nov. 10, KMJS highlights two decades of impactful stories that entertain, inspire, and influence change.

Soho travels to Zamboanga to revisit JL, a five-year-old boy from Dinas, Zamboanga del Sur, who was diagnosed with Hirschsprung disease. After KMJS aired his story, JL’s family was able to send him to the hospital, where he successfully underwent surgery.

KMJS also gives an update on the children involved in the baby-switching incident as they transition to life with their biological parents.

Then, Soho gets up close and personal with Alden Richards and Kathryn Bernardo as the on-screen couple talk about their highly anticipated love story sequel, “Hello, Love, Again” and how they relate the OFW characters they portray in the movie.

The anniversary special gets into the groove as KMJS does an exclusive interview with BINI, the chart-topping Filipino girl group behind the phenomenal hit songs “Salamin,” “Karera,” and “Pantropiko.” Jessica puts on her dancing shoes as the BINI members teach her some of their trending dance moves.

Coming soon: KMJS movie

Over the past years, KMJS has been making an impact on film and digital platforms as well. Some of its featured stories have been adapted into films like “Clarita,” “A Faraway Land,” and “Sunod.” Next year, KMJS is set to debut its Gabi ng Lagim The Movie.

This year’s Gabi ng Lagim XII, which aired on October 27, recorded an aggregate people rating of 15.9 percent in Urban Philippines based on Nielsen TV Audience Measurement ratings data. Online, it peaked at 359,000 concurrent viewers on livestream across all platforms, the highest among KMJS Gabi ng Lagim series to date.

KMJS remains the country’s number one program. Based on Nielsen TV Audience Measurement data from January to October 2024, KMJS tallied a combined GMA/GTV/Pinoy Hits people rating of 14.5 percent in Total Philippines (combined Urban and Rural).

The program’s average people rating of 20.6 percent in GMA alone in 2020 is still the highest annual ratings performance of KMJS in Urban Phils.

Online, the program has tallied 26 billion total views on YouTube since 2010.

The KMJS 20th anniversary episode will air 8:20 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 10, on GMA and GTV. Viewers can also watch via livestream on KMJS’ Facebook Page and GMA Public Affairs’ YouTube channel. Global Pinoys can catch it on GMA Pinoy TV.