MAYNILA – Pumanaw na noong Sabado ang kilalang negosyante na si Roberto Ongpin sa edad na 86.
Ito ay matapos kumpirmahin ng kanyang pamangkin na si Apa sa pamamagitan ng Facebook post na kanyang ipinaskil ngayong araw, Pebrero 5.
“My Uncle Bobby died. This is a personal announcement, not the family’s official announcement, which will be made when wake details have been decided,” ani Apa sa kanyang personal na pahayag.
Namatay si Ongpin, chairman ng Alphaland Corporation, habang natutulog noong Sabado ng gabi sa Balesin Island, ayon sa pamangkin.
Anunsyo ni Apa Ongpin sa kanyang Facebook post:
“Roberto Velayo Ongpin, chairman of Alphaland Corporation, passed away in his sleep last night in Balesin Island. He was 86 years old (born on January 6, 1937). 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.
A cum laude graduate of Ateneo de Manila and an MBA from Harvard Business School, he led SyCip Gorres and Velayo to become Asia’s largest accounting firm, and served from 1979 to 1986 as the youngest Minister for Trade and Industry, during which he made many contributions to the development of the country, as well as defended the currency in the wake of the 1983 financial crisis.
After leaving government, he built and rebuilt empires, including making the deals that brought the Shangri-La Group into the Philippines, Tagaytay Highlands, PhilWeb, and culminating in Alphaland Corporation, where he built his crown jewel, Alphaland Balesin Island Club. He has been expanding to the neighboring island of Patnanungan, which he planned to formally open this year.
He worked his whole life, and never retired. He remained sharp and undiminished by age, all the way to his last day.
He refused to publicize it, but since 1988, he has funded thousands of full scholarships to Ateneo de Manila University, in the name of his brother, Jaime, who passed away in 1987. The brothers had attended both Ateneo and Harvard on scholarship from anonymous donors.
His remains will be brought to Manila. The family will make an official announcement when wake details have been decided.”