Ina Raymundo reveals she was only 2nd choice for ‘Sabado Nights’ commercial

Ina Raymundo just revealed that she was not the first choice for the “Sabado Nights” commercial.

On Thursday’s episode of “Fast Talk with Boy Abunda," the actress and model shared the story behind her now-iconic ad, saying “Second choice ako sa commercial na ‘to.”

“So nag-sho-shoot na sila, day one of shooting. Nakita nila na ‘yung napili nila, kulang sa—ang term nila, 'landi.' Kulang sa spunk, I guess,” she explained.

According to Ina, the production team called her manager and said they’d like to hire her for the commercial.

“Nasa gimikan ako nun. Nasa Padi’s Point ako,” Ina narrated. “Tipong drinking, having fun. Biglang tumawag [at sinabi], ‘umuwi ka na, may shoot ka bukas at 6 a.m.’ And that [call] was at like 12 midnight.”

She followed her manager's instructions, and recalled going to the shoot still tired and sleepy.  

“Pero ‘yun na, the rest is history,” Ina said.

The iconic commercial, which first aired in 1995, changed her life, she continued. At that point, she had been already been an actress for about a year, playing supporting roles.

But after “Sabado Nights,” “overnight, everyone wanted to get me.”

During the interview, Tito Boy and Ina both recalled “Sabado Nights” being Ina’s 17th commercial.

“Sabado Nights” by Rizal Underground was the song used in Ina’s iconic TV commercial in the '90s for San Miguel Beer.

The commercial was recreated in 2017 with Vic Sotto, Marc Pingris, and Junmar Fajardo.

In 2024, Ina went on “Sabado Nights” with her five kids, Erika, Jakob, Mikaela, Anika, and Minka, to celebrate her birthday. — LA, GMA News