DMCI founder David Consunji passes away

MANILA, Philippines — David Consunji, the engineer who built the iconic Cultural Center of the Philippines and several other historical structures and landmark infrastructure in the Philippines, passed away on Monday at the age of 95, his son Jorge confirmed. 

 

David, hailed as the dean of builders and who founded construction company DMCI in 1954, was the country’s sixth richest man, with a net worth of $3.68 billion, according to Forbes’ 2017 list of richest people in the Philippines.

 

His eldest son Isidro, or “Sid” as he is more commonly known, is at the helm of the DMCI Holdings, the conglomerate he has founded. 

 

Today, DMCI is one of the biggest companies in the Philippines, successfully surviving even in the most difficult periods in history such as the 1997 Asian financial crisis.

 

The conglomerate has businesses in property, mining, power and water, among others. 

 

The Consunjis, like their family patriarch, are known for their hard work and ingenuity. 

 

“I learned not to be afraid of getting my hands or the rest of me dirty. I learned to have a pragmatic and hands-on approach to life. Many engineers these days have grown leery of dirt and grime; they think of themselves as elite, white-collar workers and they don’t want any work that would sully their hands with dirt,” David said in his memoir, A Passion to Build.

 

David, who hailed from Bulacan, was a Civil Engineering graduate of the University of the Philippines, Diliman.