Maurice Gallaga (August 25, 1943 – May 7, 2020), better known as Peque Gallaga, was a multi-awarded Filipino film-maker. His most significant achievement in film was Oro, Plata, Mata, which he directed after winning a scriptwriting contest sponsored by the Experimental Cinema of the Philippines. He has received an award from the International Film Festival of Flanders-Ghent, Belgium in 1983; a Special Jury Award from the Manila International Film Festival; and the 2004 Gawad CCP para sa Sining.
Upon moving back to Manila, he got involved in television musicals and eventually co-directed the film Binhi with Butch Perez.[1] He also directed the movies Virgin Forest, Scorpio Nights, Unfaithful Wife, and the "Manananggal" segment of Shake, Rattle & Roll.
In 1986 he started co-directing films with Lore Reyes, with whom he shared directing credits for Shake, Rattle & Roll II, Shake, Rattle & Roll III, Shake, Rattle & Roll IV, Baby Love, and more than twenty other films.[2] In the animated movie Dayo, Gallaga voiced the character of "Lolo Nano," the resident sage of Elementalia.
During the 1980s, Gallaga served as member of the Film Academy Classification Board (FACB).[1]
In 1989, Gallaga was forced to shelve the film Huwad Na Heredera during production when its lead actress Lorna Tolentino became pregnant;[3] it was later repurposed into a segment for the anthology film True Confessions in 1992, where it was retitled "Evelyn".[citation needed]
In 2009, Agaton & Mindy, directed by Gallaga, was released in theaters.
In 2013, saw the release of several of Gallaga's directorial efforts. On his own these include the film Sonata, and the documentary Botong Francisco: A Nation Imagined. With Reyes they directed Seduction. Also that year, Gallaga was interviewed in the documentary The Search for Weng Weng.[4][5]
In 2014, Gallaga and Reyes collaborated on their final motion picture T'yanak.
Gallaga lived with his wife Madie in Bacolod. They were married for 52 years since January 14, 1968. They have five children: Gines, Michelle, Datu, Jubal and Wanggo.[6]
Gallaga was hospitalized in Bacolod City on May 5, 2020, due to complications from his past health conditions.[7] Two days later on May 7, Gallaga died in hospital from cardio-pulmonary arrest.[8]
He was cremated in accordance to his and that of his family's wishes.
