Tycoon and ex-Trade chief Roberto Ongpin, 86

by Ed Paolo salting ManilaTimes.net

is a global problem that will continue to be a challenge to all countries, but that he remains optimistic that “this is going to be as high as it’s going to get” and vowed for the results of the government’s interventions to be felt “down the road”.

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) had said that the high inflation rate was mainly driven by increases in housing rentals, electricity and water rates, as well as in the prices of vegetables, milk, eggs, fruits and nuts.

The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), meanwhile, noted that the government’s economic cluster has identified measures meant to

TYCOON and former Trade minister Roberto “Bobby” Ongpin passed away on Saturday, February 4, his nephew announced on Sunday, February 5.

“Roberto Velayo Ongpin, chairman of Alphaland Corporation, passed away in his sleep last night in Balesin Island. He was 86 years old,” Apa Ongpin said in Facebook post.

He is survived by his wife, Monica Arellano Ongpin; and children Stephen, Anna, Michell, and Julian; and four grandchildren.

Ongpin, who was chairman and CEO of Alphaland Corp., Atok-Big Wedge Co., Inc., and founder of PhilWeb Corp., was previously one of the most powerful ministers during the presidency

Roberto V. Ongpin ManilaTimes.net photo

of Ferdinand E. Marcos, father of current President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. He helmed what was then known as the Minister of

Commerce and Industry from 1979 to 1986. The agency is now the Department of Trade and Industry.

Apa said his uncle was 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.”

A Wikipedia on Ongpin states that had helped stabilize the peso by establishing the so-called “Binondo Central Bank,” which allowed the government to directly intervene in the black market.

After Marcos’ ouster in 1986 due to the People Power Revolution, Ongpin was charged with profiteering but was eventually cleared in 2016.

“After leaving government, he built and rebuilt empires,