VP/Spotlight | AshCo: Sparkle Kilig Series Stars

Love teams appear as one of the unique staples of Philippine television. Its significance represents a huge part of the industry’s fabric. Moreover, they unquestionably bring and bind audiences to the local entertainment scene. They’re charming, humorous, and relatable—serving Filipinos their daily dose of kiligs. Even every generation has their own beloved loveteams who have left an everlasting remark. In this spirit, Sparkle GMA Artist Center introduces Ashley Sarmiento and Marco Masa as one of their new love teams, known as AshCo.

From Child Stars to Teen Stars

These teen stars are no strangers in the Philippine show business. Kicking off their careers at a very young age, they have shown remarkable professionalism and talent through the years. Looking back through their filmography reveals a number of iconic roles they portrayed over the past 10 years.

Ashley once played the role of Flor in FlordeLiza, an afternoon family drama show, in 2015. Nearly a decade passed, the drama series gained popularity on TikTok for its iconic lines and camp acting. Moreover, Marco Masa was a primetime kid who played a character named Nathaniel in the series with the same name. Brought down from Heaven, Nathaniel roamed the land to remind humanity of kindness, good values, and faith.

Now in their teenage years, AshCo is poised to explore more serious acting roles, departing from their previous experiences. They aspire to establish their presence within the industry of Philippine television through igniting kilig to the hearts of Filipinos. Together with PryCe, these stars are on their path to shine brighter than ever and expand their repertoire in the industry.

“It’s a privilege to be part of GMA’s first-launched artists this year. I feel happy that I was given the opportunity again to be launched in a loveteam, which is a dream of many artists in this industry, and I’m really grateful to be paired with someone I’ve known for more than a decade.”
Ashley Sarmiento on being launched as a love team with Marco.

AshCo fondly recalls their younger years when tape sets only felt like playgrounds, where they followed what they were instructed. Presently, they learned to immerse themselves in the characters they portray and deeply understand what is there to resonate to the audience.

“It’s quite hard because, as child actors, we weren’t really focusing just on the craft itself; we also just enjoyed and treated it as our playground. But now as teen stars and as a loveteam, having more serious acting roles, we are more focused, and we have more drive to do better in each project that we will do.”
Marco Masa on acting as a child star to acting as a teen star.

Dream Roles

While their chemistry comes effortlessly, they agree that one factor that helps them blend together smoothly is their friendship. After knowing each other for more than a decade, they fully grasp each other’s boundaries and personality. For these charming teens, staying authentic on and off camera made it easier for them to work effectively.

When it comes to dream roles, Ashley shared her interest in stepping on the role of Dyesebel. If given the chance, it would mark a full-circle moment for her, since she portrayed the young Dyesebel in 2014. As for Marco, he veers to experience the excitement of teen-oriented shows like “Click” and “TGIS,” which are two of the most iconic youth-oriented shows produced by GMA.

Growing up in the 2010s, AshCo developed fondness for iconic love teams such as KathNiel and LizQuen, who undeniably took the country by storm. However, when asked about their dream collaboration, AshCo highlighted their desire to work with the then-on-screen-turn-real-life love team in the Philippines, DongYan.

A Peak Behind the Scenes

Since they are friends long before officially recognized as a love team, Ashley and Marco already shared numerous and cherished memories together. In an exclusive interview with Village Pipol, they reminisce about some of the funny moments they had on set.

“We were still kids at the time, and we weren’t on set yet, so we decided to play the “May pulis sa ilalim ng tulay” game, in which we continued the lyrics and added hilarious stuff to the lyrics, and we ended up laughing nonstop.”
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– Ashley

“During the scene where we are being chased by the kidnappers, I told a joke right before the take, so we were trying so hard to not laugh and still be in character while running.”
– Marco

Still in the prime of their teenage years, Ashley and Marco make the most of their time. Off set, Ashley immerses herself as a media student, which challenges her time management skills as both acting and school become demanding of her presence. Despite the occasional tug-of-war for her time, she takes every opportunity to catch up with school and take care of herself through recreational activities whenever possible.

Marco, on the other side, juggles attending high school and doing workshops on the side. He utilizes his free time to keep himself active by playing basketball with friends or livestreaming his CODM game sessions, he embraces these moments as opportunities for both enjoyment and interaction with his supporters.

Watch out for AshCo!

Although official announcements regarding their next moves and projects are pending, AshCo actively engages their audience by appearing every weeknight on Black Rider and GMA’s Kilig Series on TikTok as of the moment.

“Our future projects and agendas are together! We’re really grateful and blessed to have such overflowing love and support that you give and show us. We wouldn’t be where we are right now. We promise our supporters that we will do our best to make them happy and inspire them with every project that we are going to make. We wanted to let them know that we appreciate every single one of them, and we hope to meet all of them and bond with each other.”
AshCo’s message to their fans.

Special Thanks to Sparkle GMA Artist Center