These days, basta magaling umiyak, a star can easily earn the dramatic actress tag.

However, not all drama actresses are created equal.

Throughout her career, local showbiz icon Nora Aunor has raised the bar for exemplary acting and evolved a style truly her own.

Tonight, local TV audiences will get reacquainted with the Superstar's inimitable acting prowess in Sa Ngalan Ng Ina.

"Sa mata pa lang," says her co-star Christopher de Leon—himself an award-winning and high-caliber actor.

TV5's upcoming mini-serye, which will premiere on October 3, is aptly described as "the grandest political drama ever seen on Philippine television."

It doesn't have the imposing backdrop of the multi-awarded Korean Drama series The Big Thing (2010), but directors Mario O' Hara and John Red are able to capture the raw, rustic charm of a probinsiya; and the drama, tension, and violence of pulitika in just one episode.

As it deviates from the sterotypical fanstaseryes or telefantasyas, Koreanovelas, local adaptations, and remakes that dominate mainstream TV nowadays, it attempts to break new barriers, and—hopefully—stand out as a worthy precedent.

THE STORY. The concept is reminiscent of how the Presidency was thrust upon former Philippine President Corazon Aquino in 1986. But the setting is in a province, so it doesn't have the feel of the EDSA Revolution at all.

Elena Deogracias (Nora) is the main character.

She's a simple housewife who suddenly finds herself embracing the complexities of political life and government power after the assassination of her well-loved husband Amang Deogracias (Bembol Roco).

She will be facing conflicts in her own home, where stepchildren Andrea (Nadine Samonte) and Alfonso (Alwyn Uytingco) will try to make her life more difficult.

She will have her share of insults and disparagement from the people around her.

She will encounter impediments—Pepe Ilustre (Christopher de Leon), a man from her past, and wife Lucia (Rosanna Roces), a powerful lady whose family name has ruled the province for so many years.

But she will rise above the chaos.