Business magnate Roberto "Bobby" Ongpin has passed away, Saturday night, February 4, 2023.
He was 86 years old.
The news was confirmed by his nephew Apa Ongpin to several news outlets, including GMA News, Sunday, February 5, 2023.
According to reports, Ongpin passed away in his sleep while at Balesin Island Club, the private island resort he founded.
“He is survived by his wife, Monica Arellano, his children, Stephen, Anna, Michelle, and Julian, and four grandchildren, two of whom he got to play with before he went to sleep last night,” Apa reportedly said.
Ongpin's remains will be transported to Manila, and his family will make an official announcement about the funeral arrangements at a later time.
WHO IS BOBBY ONGPIN?
For many years, Bobby Ongpin was regarded as one of the wealthiest businesspeople in the Philippines.
In 2022, Forbes Magazine listed him as the 23rd richest Filipino, with a net worth of USD830 million (PHP44.5 billion). He had been involved in various industries, including mining, real estate, and banking.
Read related story: 15 Filipinos on Forbes Billionaires List 2020; Manny Villar is country's richest?
Born on January 6, 1937, Ongpin grew up in a family of entrepreneurs. He finished his degree in business administration at the Ateneo de Manila University in 1957.
Ongpin, then, worked for Procter & Gamble for two years before pursuing an MBA at Harvard Business School in the United States.
In 1964, he returned to the Philippines and worked for the country’s top auditing firm, Sycip Gorres Velayo and Co. (SGV and Co.). Two years later, he was appointed as the managing partner of SGV, becoming the youngest ever to hold this position.
Ongpin served in the position until 1979, after then-President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. appointed him as the Minister of Commerce and Industry, which would later become the Department of Trade and Industry.
He would later be tagged as a Marcos "crony" due to his role in the administration, which he vehemently opposed.
However, in his interview with Pia Hontiveros for ANC's Strictly Politics in 2011, Ongpin said he has amassed most of his wealth when he was working as a managing partner of SGV before he was appointed as the Minister of Commerce and Industry.
Ongpin also considered himself a "technocrat" and said it was actually his job to stop the cronies.
He said, "That was what my role was. It was difficult. Many of them were friends of Marcos and they would run to him and say, 'Ongpin is a bad guy.' Pero sabi ko, 'kung yun ang gusto niyo, I'm out of here. I don't need this job.'"
During his tenure in the Marcos administration, Ongpin played a key role in establishing the Binondo Central Bank, which operated from 1983 to 1986. This bank was created as a solution to the lack of foreign currency needed to import goods, following the country's 1983 sovereign debt default.
After the fall of Marcos, he concentrated on growing his businesses.
In 1989, Ongpin and former fellow Binondo Central Bank veteran Benito Tan Guat transformed the mining company Belle Mining and Oil Exploration, Incorporated (Belle Resources) into a high-end property developer with the Tagaytay Highlands among its major projects. A decade later, Ongpin had a falling out with his business partners, leading to his removal as the CEO.
Ongpin was also the former Director of San Miguel Corporation (SMC), PAL Holdings, Inc. (PAL), and Petron Corporation (PCOR).
Ongpin was also known as the founder and chairman of the Alphaland Corporation, a real estate development company that specializes in high-end residential and commercial properties.
According to his profile at alphaland.com.ph, Ongpin was the chairman of Atok-Big Wedge Company, Inc. (AB) which, according to reuters.com, is "engaged in the business of exploration and development of mining, oil, gas and natural resources."
Within showbiz circles, he was known as the chairman of Alphaland Balesin Island Club, Inc. and the owner of Balesin Island Club, an exclusive and members-only luxury resort situated in Lamon Bay in Polilio, Quezon.
The island resort is popular among local celebrities and has served as the wedding venue of several personalities including Heart Evangelista and Chiz Escudero, and Coleen Garcia and Billy Crawford.
Read related article: Luxurious celebration: the cost of a Balesin wedding
Despite his success in various industries, Ongpin had his fair share of controversies and challenges. In 2013, he was included on a list of so-called “oligarchs” by then-President Benigno Aquino III, which caused a significant decline in his businesses.
In 2016, he stepped down from his position as chairman and director of PhilWeb, the online gambling company that he had established. His resignation came after former President Rodrigo Duterte publicly singled out Ongpin in a speech, promising to "destroy" oligarchs.
In the same year, Ongpin was battling a decision made by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that declared him guilty of insider trading, which was related to his acquisition of Philex Mining Corp. shares in 2009.
The SEC imposed a fine of P174 million on Ongpin and prohibited him from holding any positions in publicly-listed companies. In 2017, the Court of Appeals (CA) dismissed insider trading charges against the businessman.
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