Dennis Uy joins another Ongpin-run firm

MANILA, Philippines — Davao-based businessman Dennis Uy has joined another Ongpin-led company, Alphaland Corp. as a director. 

Alphaland, a property development company controlled by former trade minister Roberto Ongpin, elected a new set of directors during the company’s annual shareholders’ meeting Wednesday.

 Also elected as new directors were Senator Juan Edgardo Angara, Francisco Ed. Lim, Eric Recto and Lorenzo Tan while the new independent directors are Florentino Herrera III, Gilberto Teodoro Jr., Ramon Villarin S.J. and Gregorio Yu.  

Re-elected were businessman Gregorio Ma. Araneta III, Mario Oreta, Dennis Valdes, and  former finance secretary Margarito Teves. 

Ongpin was re-elected chairman and CEO, while his daughter Anna Bettina Ongpin was re-elected president. Elected vice chairman were Recto and Tan. 

Alphaland was organized in 2006 as a joint venture between the Ashmore Group and Ongpin.  

However, in 2013, Ongpin acquired the Ashmore stake.  

Today, Alphaland has various luxury projects such as the world-famous Balesin Island Club, Alphaland Makati Place, The Alpha Suites, The City Club, Aegle Wellness Center and the Alphaland Baguio Mountain Lodges. 

Uy’s entry in Alphaland comes on the heels of his entry in Atok-Big Wedge Co. Inc., the listed mining company also chaired by Ongpin, as vice-chairman and independent director. 

His entry in Ongpin-led companies came as a surprise to business circles given his perceived closeness to President Duterte. 

In 2016, Duterte singled out Ongpin as an “oligarch who must be destroyed.”

Uy, who hails from Davao and is a known ally of Duterte, is chairman and president of the Udenna Group, his conglomerate which is engaged in a wide portfolio of businesses ranging from petroleum to convenience stores.

He is also the CEO and president of Phoenix Petroleum. He is also the honorary consul of Kazakhstan and Duterte’s special adviser on sports.

Atok-Big Wedge was the result of a merger between Atok Gold Mining Co. and Big Wedge Mining Co., both of which were incorporated in the early 1930s. It is one of the oldest mining companies existing in the country.