Ong Ting-Gai (Frederick Kenneth Day Ong Sr.)
Frederick Kenneth Day Ong Sr., one of Cebu’s philanthropists, was the son of Ong King Kin (who was the son of Ong Yan Sio), a high-ranking public servant in China. Frederick Sr. was named after his godfather, Lt. Commander Frederick Leas Worcester, a decorated American soldier who became president and manager of Philippine Desiccated Coconut Corp. His brother-in-law, Kenneth Bertram Day (who married Alice Worcester, sister of Frederick Worcester) also an American Armed Forces officer who became general manager of the Philippine Refining Company.
Frederick Ong Sr. finished his elementary at the Sun Yat Sen High School (now Cebu Eastern College) and pursued higher studies at the Anglo-Chinese College, Gulangyu Island, Xiamen City, China. He returned to Cebu and enrolled at the Colegio de San Carlos, now the University of San Carlos.
Frederick Ong Sr. married Josefina Dy, daughter of Don Vicente Dysecko of Butuan. One of the children of Frederick Ong Sr., his son and namesake Frederick Ong Jr. became a leading businessman, community leader, and philanthropist, continuing the legacy of the Ong’s love and patriotism for Cebu.
Ong Kin King was a patriot of the Republic of China under the Kuomintang Party founded by Dr. Sun Yat-Sen, the Father of Modern China or what is known as the Republic of China established in 1912 that overthrew the Ching Dynasty and replaced the monarchy with a republican and democratic form of government.
When Ong Ong Kin died on December 7, 1960 he was conferred by Generalissimo Chiang Kai-Shek, the president of the Republic of China in exile or what we call today as Taiwan, which was established in 1949 with a plaque: “Loyalty and Patriotism Forever Remembered” and by Vice President Chen-Cheng the plaque “Loyalty and Diligence Most Admired”.
Frederick Ong Sr. became a political officer after training at the 15th Central Military Training of Chinese Army in Chongquing City, Sichuan Province, China. Frederick Ong Sr. fought against the Japanese Imperial Army under the Kuomintang Chinese Volunteers even after the war and became advisory director of the Kuomintang Party Cebu Chapter for 36 years.
Frederick Ong Sr. led the progress of the family business, Ong Kin King General Merchandise and Importer. Frederick Ong Sr. served Cebu’s community as vice president of the Cebu Filipino Chinese Chamber of Commerce, chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Cebu Eastern College (founded in 1915), director of the Cebu Chong Hua Hospital Foundation and commissioner of the Overseas Commission of the Republic of China. Ong Ting-Gai was born in Cebu City on September 27, 1917 and died July 20, 1998 at the age of 82.
- Latest
