As a hero cop with big missions, Cardo (Coco Martin) has stared at death many times over but only to emerge bolder and stronger every time, thanks to prayers and his comrades’ heroic saves. And honestly, we’re happy to still have him around. In this Kapamilya Toplist, we rounded up scenes of Cardo escaping death in FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano.

The biggest events in the series involve intense battles that put Cardo in a situation where it’s always impossible to survive. Case in point, his duel with Joaquin (Arjo Atayde) as the latter crashed in his wedding to abduct his wife Alyana (Yassi Pressman). The scene marked the end of a chapter. Cardo was stabbed by Joaquin during the fight. As he slowly fell onto the mud, the scene was interspersed with that of his twin brother Ador’s downfall, as if hinting at their twin fate. But Cardo managed to survive after killing Joaquin, then went on to embark on a fresh start with Alyana.

Joaquin’s father Tomas (Albert Martinez) tried to finish Cardo as well. He thought he did when Cardo fell during an explosion. A sequel happened inside the prison where Tomas’ stooges ganged up on Cardo, and nobody wanted to help the latter.

Several guest characters tried to defeat the hero cop. We know of course that a minor character wouldn’t get the privilege to end the main protagonist. Still, these scenes were strategically mounted we got a little scared for our main guy. For instance, his deadly fight with Hector (Cesar Montano) seems to tick all boxes. It involved bullets, street fighting, and a very dangerous location.

Alakdan (Jhong Hilario) and Bungo (Baron Geisler) are also among the deadliest enemies Cardo had to face. Not only can these two handle guns pretty well, but they’re psychopaths too.

Matched by realistic cinematography, Cardo and Alakdan’s encounter was a combination of thrilling action and heartbreaking drama. As the Pulang Araw killed the SAF troopers one by one, Cardo, fuming with anger, came out from his hiding spot to attack but only to get shot by Alakdan. His ‘dead’ body floated on the water.

Bungo’s manner of killing was gore, dubbing cops as ‘pigs’ and him, the butcher. So, when he got the chance to corner Cardo in a raid, Bungo made sure that his knife penetrates the lethal spots in Cardo’s body. He stabbed him thrice and shot him repeatedly. The attack was made at close proximity that Cardo’s pain looked so palpable.

Among the earliest enemies to outsmart Cardo was Mr. Tang (Richard Yap), the mafia leader who caught him off guard and pulled a gun. Cardo managed to survive, thanks to Carmen (Bela Padilla) who rushed him to the hospital. There was also a scene where Cardo was framed up in a drug warehouse and got shot while running away from the cops including his colleagues from the CIDG.

There was also Tanggol (Joross Gamboa), the rebel who wanted to lord over Sto Nino. Tanggol’s fighting skills were easy to defeat, yet Cardo allowed himself to get beaten up for the sake of keeping his promise to Alyana that he’d never fight back again. In another scene, Cardo was shot by Mayor Anton (Victor Neri) after saving Lola Flora (Susan Roces), who was hung to the ceiling of an old building.

One of the most iconic scenes in the series happened in the middle of a hanging bridge. It kicked off from an intense chase scene and gunfight with Marco (JC Santos) and his men, until Cardo was caught off guard and shot repeatedly. Alyana embraced Cardo’s lifeless body and grieved. He sure looked dead. But, in a brilliant plot twist, Alyana woke up from that nightmare. You’d know how weak the villains are when they could only kill Cardo in a dream.

Near-death experiences have become the teleserye’s favorite cliffhanger since the pandemic. One best example is the episode where Cardo’s Task Force Agila was set up by Lito (Richard Gutierrez) in a firing range. Cardo was shot multiple times. Alyana ran towards him and got caught in the crossfire. The two vomited blood and tried to reach for each other’s hands before closing their eyes. In the next episode, Cardo survived but Alyana was declared dead.

Another example is when the Agilas got trapped in a gunfight due to Lolo Delfin (Jaime Fabregas)’s former colleague selling them out to the authorities. Desperation and defeat were written all over Cardo’s face as he suffered through serious wounds while looking at the unconscious Lolo Delfin. Thankfully, Mara (Julia Montes)’s group arrived to save them from the lopsided fight.

Just in a recent episode, Cardo appeared to have died, again, after receiving Lily (Lorna Tolentino)’s bullet. It was fired at close range, making it impossible to survive. But when Lily asked her men to check on Cardo, it was clear that he was still breathing.

Watch how Cardo will escape the hands of his enemies in FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano, weeknights, on Kapamilya Channel, Kapamilya Online Live, and A2Z.