Ex-ambassador Cabangon-Chua, 81

MANILA, Philippines - Businessman and former ambassador to Laos Antonio Cabangon-Chua died yesterday. He was 81.

Chua’s death was confirmed by his son, D. Edgard Cabangon.

Chua, a certified public accountant, was also a full colonel in the Reserve Force of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and an honorary member of the Philippine Military Academy Class of 1956.

He was married to Bienvenida Angeles Chua and had 10 children.

He graduated from the University of the East in 1956 with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration.

Cabangon-Chua heads the ALC Group of Companies, which is engaged in media, insurance protection, pre-need assurance, automotive, banking and finance, security, education, hotels, and real estate.

Among his publications are Business Mirror and Philippines Graphic. He also runs radio station dwIZ.

Meanwhile, Vice President Jejomar Binay yesterday expressed sadness over the passing away of Cabangon-Chua, whom he referred to as a “true and good friend.”

“Ambassador Antonio Cabangon Chua was a self-made man who built by sheer hard work a business empire, yet continued to give back to his community,” Binay said.

“He is known as a media giant, a patron of literature, a father figure to young writers and journalists. To me he was a friend good and true,” the Vice President said.

“Our nation, on the heels of the passing of a great statesman, is once again made poorer by the loss of a respected business leader and philanthropist,” Binay said.

Graphic editor in chief Joel Pablo Salud in a Facebook post wrote, “For the past 25 years, he kept his word to his best friend National Artist for Literature Nick Joaquin to help budding writers find their voice through the Philippines Graphic magazine.

“Unknown to many, Tony spent time mingling with journalists as a young man and wrote Filipino poetry on the side. He was the only publisher I know who never killed a story, even when it was critical of his friends in high places. His only rule of thumb in his newsroom: ‘Always be fair.’”

Joaquin wrote the Cabangon Chua biography A Saga of Success, while former Graphic editor Jose Lacaba and Eric Caruncho wrote the sequel A Continuing Saga of Success.

The late ambassador, who grew up in the riverside barangay Namayan in Mandaluyong, was awarded a lifetime achievement award by the Kapisanan ng Brodkaster ng Pilipinas last year.