Sampaguita Pictures,Inc.
SPI Television
Ortigas Avenue Extension
Quezon City
Tels: 727-34-72 * 724-52-70 * 725-58-78 * 725-11-79
Mrs. Elizabeth Nakpil ���[email protected]


Over a hundred films of Sampaguita Pictures, Inc. (SPI) have been saved, transferred to video and can now be seen and enjoyed by a new generation of classic film lovers. Sampaguita films are now available in VHS format and sold exclusively by SPI through its archives. Interested parties can contact Rose or Nena at the Archives office (tel. no. 7273472).

Under the guidance of Mrs. Azucena Vera-Perez, the Vera-Perez children tackled their first job --- that of restoring the morale of studio personnel and completing the Sampaguita Recording Studios, with the installation of the newest and most modern equipment.

Inevitably, the Vera-Perez children ventured into their first production, "Tatlong Kasalanan" --- a trilogy starring Boots Anson-Roa, Gina Pareno, Chanda Romero, Ronaldo Valdez, Ricky Belmonte and Anthony Alonzo. It was a moderate box-office success.

It was their second venture, however, "Mrs. Eva Fonda, 16" that was to test their mettle in movie production. Starring Celia Rodriguez, Ernie Garcia, Perla Bautista, Josephine Garcia, Rez Cortez and Alma Moreno in the title role, the movie faced strong competition and was a big question mark up to the day it opened.

Embarking on a novel and monumental promotion campaign, the Vera-Perez children's efforts paid off when the film grossed over a million on its first five days.

Biggest come-on was the unique "Sneak Preview" held for media, bookers and exhibitors, and telecast live by remote control from the Sampaguita Recording Studio on the "Nothing Bu the Truth" program. The preview was tagged in press review as a "brilliant stroke of PR", "a touch of genius", "most effective publicity campaign" among the other things.

Facing the future with optimism, the Vera-Perez children still looked back with great respect to the conservatism of their elders but their enterprising youth propelled them to infuse their future productions with innovative ideas, variety in casting, direction, story and other technical aspects.

And it happened. A series of hits followed through, including "Rebecca Marasigan," "Paraisong Parisukat," Masarap, Masakit, ang Umibig" "Marupok, Mapusok, Maharot", "Rubia Servios" and "Dyesebel."

The last Sampaguita production in 1981 was "Goriong Butete" starring Chiquito and Amy Austria which did just fair at the box-office.

Tragedies also beset the Vera-Perezes. One of the Vera-Perz children, Roberto, died in 1977 and was joined by Mommy Vera in 1980.

As for the rest of the Vera-Perez children, Georgina is now married to Speaker Jose de Venecia and Lilibeth to Bonifacio Nakpil. Pepito ventured into another business that did not concern show business. So did Georgina. Lilibeth enjoyed being a housewife while Chona and Cocoy had to attend to their studies.

Nobody seemed to care about doing any Sampaguita Pictures production. The memories were so fresh and so bitterly painful. The incentive was gone. The guiding light extinguished. The guiding spirit inert. It was at this point that Marichu Maceda, fondly called "Manay Ichu" put up her own production outfit --- MVP. So far, it has turned out three pictures, two of which ("Stepsister" and "Pakawalan") were great hits and the third (Batch '81) is considered a classic. Sampaguita Pictures Inc. is still around, producing television shows and serves as a post-production company for other movie companies.

It took years of hard work and patience to finally start the creation of an archives department to save the films and movie memorabilia of Sampaguita Pictures. Elizabeth Perez Nakpil founded the archives so that people will always remember the great films of Sampaguita and enjoy them for generations to come. A lot of time and money was spent to transfer the 16 mm. and 35 mm. films to umatic and betacam forms. The films are now being shown in television and cable channels in the Philippines, including Channel 7, 5, 4, and VIVA television. It was a labor of love and the effort was worth it.

It was also through the extraordinary efforts of the archivists who worked diligently to make the archives a success. They include Rahnee Alvarez, Jun Mones, Christine Manglal-lan, Nena Odo�o and Eligio Macatangay Jr., people from diverse backgrounds yet connected by their love for old movies and protecting a vital part of our country's heritage. Editors like Jun Almanzor, Jose Dineros and Jomel Libumfacil also worked hard to save the classic movies from the vaults.


The Sampaguita Archives collection is composed of over a hundred original black & white films from the late 50's to the the early seventies and colored films from the mid-70's till the 80's. Also included are advertising layouts, magazine articles, and various paraphernalia from the Golden Age of Films.

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