Veteran filmmaker Peque Gallaga, an esteemed figure in Philippine cinema known for his horror movies, died at the age of 76 today from multiple health complications in his hometown of Bacolod City.
His brother, Ricky Gallaga told Visayan Star Daily that the Negrense director passed away at the Riverside Medical Center in their hometown this morning. Meanwhile, his son, writer and actor Wanggo Gallaga, told GMA News that his father “wasn’t in any pain” when he passed away.
News of his death comes just a few days after his family earlier this week said that the Shake, Rattle and Roll director was in the hospital due to “complications arising from past health conditions.”
Aside from his horror movies, Gallaga is known for the war epic Oro, Plata, Mata (“Gold, Silver, Death” ), the arthouse skin flick Scorpio Nights, and the kid fantasy movie Magic Temple. His filmography includes at least 30 movies which he had directed, as well as several films which he wrote and produced. Some of the awards Gallaga won included the 2004 Gawad Para sa Sining (Order of the Arts) from the Cultural Center of the Philippines, and an award for Best Direction for Oro, Plata Mata at the International Film Festival of Flanders-Ghent in Belgium in 1983.
Tributes and condolences poured in on social media, including those from fellow film director Jose Javier Reyes who said, “I am devastated. I lost one of my greatest mentors. A lot of us are in great pain for this loss.”
Novelist Lualhati Bautista said that Gallaga will be missed by the film industry. “All of us will miss you,” she wrote.
Peque is survived by his wife Madie Gallaga and Wanggo.
https://www.facebook.com/lualhati.bautista.3/posts/10158295371549621
Read more Coconuts Manila articles here.
Reader Interactions