Victor Consunji, 68, passes away

MANILA, Philippines — Victor A. Consunji, vice chairman, president and COO of Semirara Mining and Power Corp. (SMPC), passed away Thursday at the age of 68.

This was announced in separate disclosures by SMPC and parent firm DMCI Holdings Inc. yesterday.

“It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of our dear and beloved Mr. Victor Almeda Consunji on Dec. 27. He was 68 years of age,” SMPC told the local bourse.

Consunji was a director at SMPC since May 2001 and became the vice-chairman of the board in November 2014.

At the time of his death, he was also a director of DMCI Holdings, the president and COO of SEM-Calaca Power Corp. and Southwest Luzon Power Generation Corp.

 “Under Mr. Consunji’s leadership, he was able to turn around the coal mining operations, allowing the corporation to reach new heights, paving the way for SMPC to become the only integrated power company in the country,” SMPC said.

 “It’s open-pit mining and took us seven years to turn it around from 1997 to 2005. It was my younger brother Victor who turned it around,” Isidro, Victor’s older brother at the helm of the DMCI Holdings, said in a previous interview with The STAR.

But apart from growing the company, Victor wanted to bring in sustainable livelihood to inhabitants of Semirara Island. He was spearheading aquaculture in the island, such as abalone farming and propagation of giant clams.

A trivia not widely known to everybody was that in 2000, Victor was able to bring down safely a Cessna 206 plane he was on at Laiya beach in Batangas after the designated pilot suffered a heart attack.

Carrying two other passengers, the plane was bound for Manila from Caticlan, Aklan. They were still 50 miles southwest of Manila at 3,000 feet.

Without any flight experience or training, Victor turned instant pilot and received instructions over the plane’s radio from the pilot of a passing Asian Spirit plane.

They escaped the horrific incident with just minor bruises. 

Victor is survived by his mother, Fredesvinda, and siblings—Josefa Consuelo, Isidro, Jorge, Luz Consuelo, Maria Cristina and Maria Edwina.

His father, David, and sister Rebecca, passed away in 2017 and 2015, respectively.

His remains lie at the Capilla de San Francisco chapel, Santuario de San Antonio Parish, McKinley Road, Forbes Park in Makati City. 

Interment is on Sunday at the Heritage Memorial Park in Taguig City after a 2 p.m. mass at Santuario de San Antonio.