Award-winning actor Paulo Avelino returns to "Maalaala Mo Kaya" this Satuday (July 6) after almost two years since his first ever episode in the longest-running drama anthology in Asia.

In his second “MMK” stint, Paulo will portray, for the first time, a born mute character named Apaw, who was maltreated by his relatives. “This one is entirely different from my first ‘MMK,’ which was with KC Concepcion. It’s not a love story, but a touching tale of extraordinary courage and true friendship between my character Apaw and his bestfriend Dante,” explained Paulo, who will be joined in the episode by his “Walang Hanggan” co-actor Joem Bascon, who will play the role of Dante.

“It’s not just a simple story about a handicap person. It’s about the friendship between Apaw and Dante that will make viewers realize the importance of having a real friend who will never leave you amid life’s hardest trials,” Paulo further shared.

Together with Paulo and Joem in the upcoming “MMK” episode are Jewel Mische, Alma Concepcion, Ismael Clavero, John Vincent Servilla, Glenda Garcia, Tom Olivar, Jamila Obispo, Jerome Ventinilla, and Brace Henry Aquiza. It was researched by Alex Martin, written by Benson Logronio, and directed by Raz De La Torre.

Don’t miss the inspiring friendship of Apaw and Dante in “Maalaala Mo Kaya” this Saturday, 7:30pm, after “Wansapanataym” on ABS-CBN. For more updates, log on to www.mmk.abs-cbn.com, follow @MMKOfficial on Twitter, and “like” www.facebook.com/MMKOfficial.