Román Ongpin y Tanbensiang was a Chinese Filipino businessman and philanthropist who aided Filipino revolutionaries against the Spanish and American colonial administration in the Philippine islands.

Early life

Ongpin was born in

Binondo Binondo () is a district in Manila and is referred to as the city's Chinatown. Its influence extends beyond to the places of Quiapo, Santa Cruz, San Nicolas and Tondo. It is the oldest Chinatown in the world, established in 1594 by the ...

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

on February 28, 1847 to Simon Ongpin and Sinfrosa Tanbensiang. His father Simón Ongpin (; hispanized as "Ongpinco" (, later shortened to become "Ongpin" ())Toward a History of Chinese Burial Grounds in Manila during the Spanish Colonial Period
/ref> was among those who migrated from mainland China to do business in the Philippines. Ongpin learned about doing business at a young age.

Career

Ongpin established his own business in 1883 he dubbed "El 82" after the cholera outbreak in the Philippines a year before. The name was chosen as a symbol of rebirth of the archipelago from the health disaster. Ongpin's business was a success, and his wealth and social standing improved. He pioneered the use of fixed pricing and double-entry accounting system. One of the exclusive products that El 82 sold was art supplies. Ongpin's wife Pascuala Domingo was a descendant of Filipino artist

Damián Domingo Damián Domingo y Gabor (February 12, 1796 – July 26, 1834) was the father of Philippine painting. Domingo established the official Philippine art academy in his residence in Tondo in 1821. Biography Damian Domingo was born in Tondo, Manila and ...

. Through this, Ongpin got involved with the illustrados. Ongpin was a financier of the Katipunan, letting the revolutionaries use his store as a secret hideout. Ongpin also provided financial aid and food to the revolutionary movement until the end of the Spanish colonization of the Philippines. Ongpin once again aided the Filipinos following the

Philippine–American War The Philippine–American War or Filipino–American War ( es, Guerra filipina-estadounidense, tl, Digmaang Pilipino–Amerikano), previously referred to as the Philippine Insurrection or the Tagalog Insurgency by the United States, was an arm ...

and was imprisoned by the Americans from December 1900 until March 1901. Despite attaining freedom from imprisonment, Ongpin remained opposed to the United States' occupation of the Philippines. He expressed this sentiment by refusing to sell to Americans and teaching his children to be self-sufficient without help from foreigners. Ongpin also had civic involvements and held posts in organizations. He was the Teniente Primo de Mestizos, president of Casa Asilo de Invalidos Filipinos de Guerra an institution for veterans of Pascual Poblete, and treasurer of Union Obrera de Filipinas of Isabelo de los Reyes. He also had membership at the Philippine Chamber of Commerce.

Death and legacy

Ongpin died on December 10, 1912, due to heart ailment. Before his death, he requested his family to dress his remains in a barong tagalog. He was interred at the North Cemetery of Manila. The street Calle Sacristia in Manila was renamed as Ongpin Street on September 17, 1915 and a monument of Ongpin was built near the Binondo Church and the Plaza de Binondo (now

Plaza San Lorenzo Ruiz Plaza San Lorenzo Ruiz or Plaza Lorenzo Ruiz () is a major public square in Binondo, Manila, bounded by Quintin Paredes Street (formerly ''Calle Rosario'') to the east and Juan Luna Street (formerly ''Calle Anloague'') to the west, parallel to the ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ongpin, Ramon 1847 births 1912 deaths Filipino people of Chinese descent 19th-century Filipino businesspeople Filipino philanthropists People from Binondo People of the Philippine Revolution People of the Philippine–American War Burials at the Manila North Cemetery 19th-century philanthropists