Jaime Velayo Ongpin (June 15, 1938 – December 7, 1987) was

Minister of Finance A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", ...

of the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

under President

Cory Aquino Maria Corazon "Cory" Sumulong Cojuangco-Aquino (; ; January 25, 1933 – August 1, 2009) was a Filipina politician who served as the 11th president of the Philippines from 1986 to 1992. She was the most prominent figure of the 1986 People P ...

, appointed in 1986 after having played an instrumental role in her campaign. Ongpin was the younger brother of

Roberto Ongpin Roberto Velayo Ongpin (January 6, 1937 – February 4, 2023) was a Filipino businessman who served as the Minister of Commerce and Industry (initially as Minister of Industry) during the Marcos administration. His younger brother Jaime serve ...

who had been Minister of Trade and Industry under President

Ferdinand Marcos Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. ( , , ; September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was a Filipino politician, lawyer, dictator, and kleptocrat who was the 10th president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He ruled under martial ...

. Ongpin was a 1958 graduate of the

Ateneo de Manila University , mottoeng = Light in the Lord , type = Private, research, non-profit, coeducational basic and higher education institution , established = December 10, 1859 , religious_affiliation = Roman Catholic ( Jesuits) , academic ...

and from

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate business school of Harvard University, a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. It is consistently ranked among the top business schools in the world and offers a large full-time MBA ...

in 1962. He had been advertising manager of the Philippine subsidiary of

Procter & Gamble The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is an American multinational consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble. It specializes in a wide range of personal health/consumer he ...

. In 1962, he joined the Benguet Corporation, one of the country's leading gold mining companies. In 1974, he became company president. He committed suicide on December 7, 1987 at age 49, just three months after having been dismissed from the government on September 14, in a cabinet reorganization that followed a coup attempt. His wife was quoted as saying: "He had been depressed about infighting in Aquino's cabinet and disappointed that the 'People Power' uprising which had toppled dictator Ferdinand Marcos had not brought significant change". He was portrayed by Noel Trinidad in the 1988

People Power Revolution The People Power Revolution, also known as the EDSA Revolution or the February Revolution, was a series of popular demonstrations in the Philippines, mostly in Metro Manila, from February 22 to 25, 1986. There was a sustained campaign of c ...

movie ''

A Dangerous Life ''The Four Day Revolution'' (broadcast in the Philippines as ''A Dangerous Life'') is a 1988 Australian television film directed by Robert Markowitz and written by David Williamson. The story is about the journey and the love affair of an Americ ...

''.

References

1987 deaths 20th-century Filipino economists Secretaries of Finance of the Philippines Ateneo de Manila University alumni Harvard Business School alumni 1938 births Suicides by firearm in the Philippines Burials at the Manila North Cemetery Corazon Aquino administration cabinet members Individuals honored at the Bantayog ng mga Bayani Filipino politicians of Chinese descent {{Philippines-politician-stub