Businessman Roberto Ongpin, former Commerce and Industry Minister under the late President Ferdinand Marcos, died on Sunday at Balesin Island Club, the exclusive Philippine island resort he built.
In a statement sent to Balesin resort members, a copy of which was shown Context.ph, Alphaland President Rodolfo Ma. “Pong’ Ponferada said that company chairman and founder Ongpin “passed away peacefully in his sleep early this morning, 5 February 2023. As many of you may know, he had just turned 86 years old last January 6,” he added.
“RVO was husband to Monica, father to Stephen, Anna, Michelle and Julian, father-in-law to Laura and Frank, and in what I believe to be his most cherished role, grandfather to Sebastian, Benjamin, Lia and Maya,” Atty. Ponferada said.
He requested prayers for Ongpin’s eternal repose and to give the family “privacy and support to get through the next few days.”
He said further details and updates will be given in the coming days.
Ongpin’s remains will reportedly be flown to Manila on Sunday.
Ongpin, born in 1937, was an alumnus of Ateneo de Manila University and earned a masters degree from Harvard University. He is a certified public accountant, who in 1966 became the managing partner of SGV two years after he joined the well-known accounting firm.
He joined government in 1979 on the invitation of then President Marcos. At the height of the debt and foreign exchange crisis the Philippines grappled with in 1984, Ongpin established the so-called “Binondo Central Bank” to stabilize the peso-dollar exchange rate.
He was accused of insider trading in 2009 and was eventually cleared of the charges in 2017.
Ongpin’s extensive business interests, which includes property development, aviation, mining, has landed him at number 23 in Forbes Magazine’s list of the 50 richest men in the Philippines, with an estimated wealth of $830 million.
