Teodoro C. Borlongan (April 15, 1955 – April 11, 2005) was the last president of the

Urban Bank Urban Bank (Philippine Stock Exchange, PSE: UBI), also known by its initials (and ticker symbol) UBI, was a middle-sized bank in the Philippines. The bank, along with its two subsidiaries, declared a voluntary bank holiday for failing to meet wi ...

and was unofficially known as one of the leading bankers in 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 ...

. Borlongan was named one of the ''Ten Outstanding Young Men'' for domestic banking in 1993. He graduated

cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sou ...

from the Honors Economics program 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_aff ...

in 1978. In the 1980s, he became president of Urban Bank, which he turned into one of the largest banks in the Philippines during his long tenure there. Court cases, however, forced the

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (; commonly abbreviated as BSP in both Filipino and English) is the central bank of the Philippines. It was established on July 3, 1993, pursuant to the provision of Republic Act 7653 or the New Central Bank Act ...

to shut it down on April 26, 2000. Over the years that followed, the numerous court cases that came upon Borlongan, including charges of economic sabotage—then punishable by the death penalty, and what he thought was his failure to obtain justice from those who he accused as allegedly responsible for Urban Bank's permanent closure ultimately drove him into depression. On April 11, 2005, he brought flowers to the graves of his late parents and brother at the Loyola Memorial Park in

Marikina Marikina (), officially the City of Marikina ( fil, Lungsod ng Marikina), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 456,159 people. It is loca ...

. After sending an

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to a close friend and making calls on his

cellular phone A mobile phone, cellular phone, cell phone, cellphone, handphone, hand phone or pocket phone, sometimes shortened to simply mobile, cell, or just phone, is a portable telephone that can make and receive calls over a radio frequency link whil ...

to his wife and close relatives, he stepped into his parked car and committed

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...

with a gunshot to his left temple. He was four days short of his 50th birthday, leaving behind his wife, Dolly, and their four young children, Katherine, Jonathan, Christopher and Stephani

External links

He was last seen on his mother's tomb
Las Vegas, Nevada, Las Vegas Asian Journal
Police ruled out foul play in death of Urban Bank president

The Philippine Star ''The Philippine Star'' (self-styled ''The Philippine STAR'') is an English-language newspaper in the Philippines and the flagship brand of the Philstar Media Group. First published on July 28, 1986, by veteran journalists Betty Go-Belmonte, ...

* http://www.bsp.gov.ph/publications/media_archives.asp?id=1332&yr=1999 BSP's commentaries {{DEFAULTSORT:Borlongan, Teodoro 1955 births 2005 deaths Ateneo de Manila University alumni 20th-century Filipino businesspeople Filipino Roman Catholics Suicides by firearm in the Philippines Place of birth missing Burials at the Loyola Memorial Park