MANILA, Philippines — Former Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) president and chairman of the board Baltazar N. Endriga died last Sunday, May 8.
CCP mourns the death of the former presindent who was fondly called "Bal" or "Baltazar N." He is is survived by his wife Teresita, sons David and Francisco, and daughter Therese Endriga-Wigforss.
Endriga served as CCP president from September 1995 to December 1998, chairman from 2001 to 2003 and board member in various periods from 2010 to 2022.
He led the CCP’s fight for ownership of its land in the CCP Complex against Pasay City and the Republic Real Estate Corporation. He won the case at the Supreme Court in November 1998.
He also established the ASEAN Garden or Liwasang ASEAN, a promenade and garden fronting Roxas Boulevard in 1996. He also spearheaded the CCP’s successful participation in the Philippine Centennial celebration from 1996-1998.
During his term as president, he was able to straighten out the CCP’s financial situation and recovered a substantial portion of long-time receivables particularly from the tobacco excise tax.
A management and finance expert, Endriga was President and Chief Executive Officer of Meridian International College - MINT College. He graduated magna cum laude in Accountancy from the University of the East, and went on to become a Johnson Foundation Scholar and Peter Deuticke Fellow at the Harvard Business School where he achieved his MBA.
After business school, he held such positions as Managing Director and President of Andersen Consulting Philippines, a multinational business and Information Technology company, and President of his alma mater University of the East.
His son, Dr. David Endriga, said "that huge, incredible heart of Papa’s has finally given up. His passing marks the loss of one of humanity’s champions. He was known for championing what was right for people from all walks of life, and strove until the very end to leave every place and every life better than he’d found it.”
To honor and celebrate his memory, a wake is being held at Chapel 1 of the Heritage Memorial Park in Taguig City up to May 14. Viewing schedule is from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Schedule of masses are as follows:
- May 13, Friday at 5 p.m.
- May 14, Saturday at 6 p.m.
The funeral mass will be held on May 15, Sunday, at 9 a.m. Interment follows right after the mass.
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