MANILA, Philippines?With characteristic good humor, screen legend Mila del Sol quips that she?s surrounded by spirits in her newly built ?retirement? home in Parañaque.

The two-story house is studded with framed photographs from her movies produced by LVN, and candid snapshots with the biggest stars of RP cinema?s first Golden Age. She jests, ?Sometimes I feel sad looking at the photos of all these dearly departed!?

She points to a picture of Jaime de la Rosa and Norma Blancaflor, and of Charito Solis, Nida Blanca and LVN big boss Manny de Leon. She also has photos with Hollywood stars Sandra Dee and Burt Lancaster, circa 1950, when she made the movie ?Escapade in Japan.?

?When I got back from the United States after 20 years, I looked for my former leading men?they were all gone,? Mila says. ?But they will always be alive in my heart.?

Lulay, as she is called by 15 grandchildren and 28 great grandchildren, has thus turned her suburban home into a shining testament to her storied life as actress and businesswoman.

She led a quiet life in America until eldest son Sonny Tambunting urged her to come home last year. In June, she made her homecoming official and irrevocable when she brought home all her memorabilia, filling up a 40-foot truck. ?Sonny says he needs to build another house for me alone, one with just walls to hang my framed photos on,? says Mila.

Lulay?s homecoming was actually an idea of Sonny?s son, Parañaque Vice-Mayor Gus Tambunting, who wanted his movie star-granny to co-chair the Pag-Asa ng Kabataan Foundation. ?This house was their come-on,? Mila says, laughing. Seriously, she points out, ?This place has sentimental value. The original structure was the house of my youngest daughter, Peachy Young, who died in 2008.?

Peachy?s two sons is in show biz, too. ?Ira (Cruz) plays with the band Bamboo, and John (Cruz) recently guested in Dolphy?s movie ?Nobody, Nobody But ? Juan.?? John, who also moved from the US, lives with Lulay.

Displayed in John?s bedroom are wooden sculptures from Baguio, which Lulay bought at the same time as brass ornaments from Zamboanga, 45 years ago. There are also bells, crystal fishes, angel figures and other souvenirs from her numerous travels abroad?Lourdes, France; Guadalupe, Mexico; from the Holy Land to Hollywood.

The living room centerpiece is Mila?s portrait, in costume as Sheba in ?Haring Solomon at Reynang Sheba? directed by National Artist for Film Lamberto Avellana in 1952. ?It was painted by Rick Gonzalez, a Filipino sidewalk artist in Hollywood. I met him on Sunset Boulevard 40 years ago,? she recounts. ?He copied it from a movie still.?

The intricately carved frame is a gift from the Rios family whose company made her living room and dining set from narra wood. ?These furniture pieces are 70 years old,? Mila says proudly.

Mornings, she goes to Baclaran Church to hear Mass; at dusk, she prays the rosary at the grotto near her bedroom. ?There is so much to be thankful for,? she smiles. In her bedroom is a wooden engraving of Our Mother of Perpetual Help, a gift from daughter Ellen Tambunting.

The Baclaran icon is especially close to her heart. ?I started going to Baclaran when I was still single and it was still a shack. I went door-to-door to help seek donations for the construction of Redemptorist Church.? When she built her business, Superior Maintenance Services (SMS), she constantly ran to Baclaran.

Gus says his grandmother is keen on the foundation?s educational programs. ?We?ve sent 3,000 indigent students to STI. We?ve had 10 cum laudes and one summa cum laude.?

?I wasn?t emotional when my children finished school, but every time our scholars graduate, I cry buckets,? Mila admits.

Her US-based children Ancel and Lee Romero, with their spouses Payan and Anna, also put up the Mila del Sol Educational Endowment Fund for SMS employees and their children. Ancel says the first batch of scholars will be awarded on Lulay?s birthday, May 12.