Poe grateful for inclusion of FPJ Film Collection in UNESCO heritage program

PHILIPPINES, April 30 - Press Release
April 30, 2025

Poe grateful for inclusion of FPJ Film Collection in UNESCO heritage program

Sen. Grace Poe showed appreciation to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) for choosing the film collection of her father, the late National Artist Fernando Poe Jr., as part of the Memory of the World (MoW) Programme.

Poe said a total of 168 movies of her father are in the FPJ Film archives, which their family established to properly preserve the films.

"We have put in a lot of effort to maintain it, and we are grateful that the UNESCO, through Professor Nick Deocampo, has recognized the significance of the FPJ Film Archives and is now committed to ensuring that that this legacy of my father to the Filipino people remains protected, remembered, and passed on to future generations," she said in her speech.

Poe delivered a message during the launch of the Philippine leg of the global MoW at the Department of Foreign Affairs.

Deocampo, a renowned filmmaker, serves as the Philippine MoW committee chairperson.

UNESCO's MoW aimed to preserve and honor a country's documentary heritage and make it accessible to the public.

Dubbed the "King of Philipine Movies," FPJ's films became the cinematic chronicles of the travails of the Filipino working class. Many identified with his portrayal of a man fighting the forces of oppression, and found vicarious joy in his character's ability to attain justice.

Poe said many of FPJ's movies, including those he produced, came at a crucial historical juncture when the country was recovering from the devastating effects of World War 2, political uncertainties, social inequality, injustice and poverty.

As such, FPJ's films captured a people's aspirations to find in cinema their own identity and their own hero.

"I saw how films were a powerful medium for storytelling. They are history books in motion and an impactful way to transmit our values and identity to the next generation. Consequently, every time we lose a film because it has not been properly preserved, we lose a part of our story, and in a sense, a part of ourselves," Poe said.

The FPJ Film Collection is one of nine (9) Philippine documents and collections inscribed in the UNESCO MoW International, Regional, and National Registers, which also include:

(1) The Presidential Papers of Manuel Quezon;

(2) The Radio Broadcast of the EDSA People Power Revolution;

(3) the Jose Maceda Collection consisting of musical archive and field notes;

(4) the Philippine Paleographs (from the Hanunoo, Buhid, Tagbanua, and Pala'wan);

(5) the Culion Leprosy Museum Archives;

(6) Doctrina Christiana (1593) - one of the earliest printed books in the Philippines;

(7) The Hinilawod Epic Chant Recordings;

(8) And Edie Romero's Ganito Kami Noon, Paano Kami Ngayon? - a film classic.

"These individual collections and works are important strands which make up the colourful tapestry of our collective Filipino heritage. They

help us understand the Filipino identity and the broader humanity," Poe said.

"The responsibility for caring and preserving great works of art and culture usually falls heavily to those of us who are left behind. It is a challenge but also a privilege. So, to be assured that there is a global effort to support the preservation and recognition of these intellectual treasures is greatly appreciated," Poe added.