Friday, February 23, 2007
ROMAN ONGPIN
His bronze statue stands proudly on the street named after him — stretching from Juan Luna Street to Plaza de Sta. Cruz.It's a busy narrow street that is bounded by a historical church on either end — Binondo Church on the west and Sta. Cruz Church on the east; churches that were initially built to serve Binondo’s growing Chinese converts to Catholicism.
Many local Manilans to this day would even nonchalantly refer to the entire Binondo district or Chinatown as Ongpin.
But who was Roman Ongpin?
The only information I could find about this man is that he founded El 82, an artist supply store in Binondo, which was managed by his son, Alfonso.
The walls of this store were lined with some of the finest collections of Philippine paintings such as those by the nineteenth-century masters, Juan Luna y Novicio and Felix Resurrection Hidalgo. There were also paintings by Fabian de la Rosa and later on, by his nephew, Fernando Amorsolo.
So, essentially, besides being a successful businessman, Roman Ongpin was a patron of the arts. However, according to Tsinoy.com, there was another side to this man — the heroic. He was supposedly an intrepid supporter of the Philippine Revolution of 1898; generously providing the Katipuneros with money, foods and other important necessities from his business establishments.
The Spaniards were completely oblivious to his involvement because Ongpin appeared as a staunch ally of the administration. He was so good at such pretense he was appointed teniente de mestizos of Binondo for two years. Even during the early American colonial rule, Roman Ongpin remained active in the revolution until he was caught and imprisoned from December 6, 1900 to March 23,1901.
A true lover of the arts and freedom, Roman Ongpin risked his life, the welfare of his family, and his personal fortune by having supported the Philippine Revolution.
Additional sources:
Aguinaldo's Breakfast by Ambeth Ocampo
Anvil Publishing 1993
Aguinaldo's Breakfast by Ambeth Ocampo
Anvil Publishing 1993
Labels: Binondo, Ongpin Street, Roman Ongpin
posted by Señor Enrique at 7:50 PM
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