Oro Enterprises, Inc.

Rich in Filipino Excellence and Tradition

On November 10, 1934, Felipe and Epifania Guanzon gave The Farmacia Nueva at Sto. Cristo, Manila, to newlyweds Horacio and Anita Guanzon as a wedding gift. Soon after, the drug store was transferred to R. Hidalgo St. corner Quezon Blvd. in Quiapo, Manila and was renamed Farmacia Oro. Through good business sense, the drugstore prospered under the couple’s hands.

Then the dark days of World War II descended on the Philippines. The Japanese forced the Guanzon family to evict to Montalban, Rizal. But feeling a strong sense that medicines should still be available to his countrymen, Horacio Guanzon kept Farmacia Oro at R. Hidalgo open all throughout the Japanese occupation. To do this, he had to ride a bicycle from Montalban to Quiapo everyday. Riding his bicycle home at night, he would bring badly needed medicines in a sack back to Montalban to give to the guerillas.

With all this unselfish service, it was no wonder that Filipinos after Liberation honored Farmacia Oro with their undying loyalty. Soon, seven more drug stores were opened on Rizal Avenue corner Soler St., Espana St., Legarda St., Taft Avenue, Cebu City, Naga City, and Quezon City.

To break his dependence on drug imports, Horacio Guanzon founded Oro Laboratories in 1949 more ably serve the medical needs of a growing Filipino population. Oro Laboratories produced galenical products like aceite alcomporado, tintura de yodo, aceite de manzanilla, elixir paregoric, sulfa antibiotics, multivitamins, mentholated throat lozenges, methyl slicylate and others still fondly remembered by our parents. Oro made a name for itself with skin help preparation Oroderm, which is still popular today, and Gold Cross Rubbing Alcohol, the original 70% isoprophyl alcohol.

In 1958, his daughter Marietha Guanzon-Picache, then recently graduated from B.S. Pharmacy at the University of Santo Tomas developed Citrobelle Antiseptic Astringent Lotion, a skin cleansing acne treatment and whitening lotion that was the first of its kind in the Philippine market. It contained AHA which gently and gradually removed dead epidermal skin cells, and had white grains that looked like fine salt to further strengthen the formula’s exfoliating properties. Users were amazed at its cleansing power and loved the resulting smoother, softer, and fairer skin. Oro laboratories’ sales went through the roof.

Finding an opportunity to develop overseas markets, Marietha went overseas and Citrobelle began to be exported to Europe and the U.S., Hong Kong, Japan, Thailand, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Borneo, Singapore, Malaysia and Dubai.

Meanwhile, several inferior “me too” products emerged during the Marcos era, and were made popular by heavy advertising. Under heavy labor union pressure headed by Fr. Hogan, SJ and Dra. Paz Guidote sister of Mrs. Anita Guanzon, the Farmacia Oro drugstore chain was sold off one by one to emerging entrepreneurs.

Returning to the Philippines in 1990, Marietha Guanzon-Picache-Vda. De Holmgren is now actively reclaiming the paramount position that Citrobelle, now beautifully evolved into Citrobelle Skin Cleanser and Whitener, deserves in the local market.

Never one to rest on her laurels, Marietha has developed at Oro Laboratories an array of exciting new skin and hair care products for today’s Filipina: St. Topez Seaweed reducing soap, Fem Tight soap, Screen Insect Repellant soap, Peni Fresh Male Organ soap, X-Fol Polishing Bar and Marietha’s Gugo shampoo. Recently, she was honored as “1999 Gintong Ina Awardee for Medicine and Applied Science” for her pioneering product developments. She is truly a worthy successor to the heroic legacy of Horacio Guanzon. MGH