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Edgardo I. Villavicencio

 

 


Edgardo Villavicencio Photo 1933

Edgardo Villavicencio (1933)

Edgardo I. Villavicencio was born on Nov 27, 1915 in Davao, Philippines to Dr. Sixto M. Villavicencio when he was assigned as a District Health Officer there and Delfina Ilagan. He is a descendant of the heroine Gliceria Marella and Eulalio Villavicencio, a shipowner. He is fondly called as "Edgar", " Ed" or " Egating".

Davao with parents

Delfina, Weweng, Edgar and Sixto

Edgar grew up in Manila and completed his High School at the De La Salle College in 1933. In school, he was described by his classmates as "calm and serene but with a lively mind gifted with a rare mathematical ability." Edgar was one of the three musketeers in mathematics in his batch and was also known for his elocutionary and argumentative talents. He was a member of the Debating Club where he would captivate his audience with his excellent delivery and witty remarks.

Debating Team 1932

Edgardo continued his studies at the Mapua Institute of Technology where he earned a Civil Engineering Degree in 1937. He was the Freshman Representative to the Student Council in 1933-34 and was President of the MIT Engineering Associationin 1935-36. He was President of his Junior Class and the Vice-President of the Civil Engineering Board in 1935-36. In 1957, he was honored as a Most Distinguished Alumni of the school.

Edgardo Mapua 1937

After obtaining a college degree, Edgardo pursued his studies in the United States and specialized in Mining Engineering at the Colorado School of Mines. He transferred to Michigan College of Mines and Technology where he obtained his Mining Engineering Degree in 1939. He finished the course in two years where normally a civil engineering graduate can take the course in three years.

When Edgardo arrived in the USA, the first thing he did was to purchase a car together with the former Bureau of Mines Director Fernando Busuego. The next day, he was in the hospital due to a car accident in Wyoming. A visible scar and bump on his forehead is a reminder of his youthful adventures.

Colorado School

Upon his return to the Philippines in 1939, Edgardo practiced his profession in Palawan where he worked for Compania Minera de Filipinas which was engaged in manganese mining and was owned by the Roces and the Lopez-Rizal families.

Edgardo was very active in several professional organizations including:
AMIEP ( Association of Management and Industrial Engineers of the Philippines), President for 3 years
Philippine Mining Society, President for 3 years
PHILCOST ( Philippine Council of Science and Technology), President
UTOP (United Technological Organization of the Philippines), President
PHILCOST and UTOP were the two mother technological organizations in the country at that time.

PCI (Philippine Chamber of Industries), President in 1974 and director for several years. The PCI has been merged into the PCCI (Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry). He was part of the PCI mission to Europe as well as the PCI mission to the USSR in 1977.

Since 1953, he had served in the government during the administrations of:

  • Magsaysay, he was tasked to study the existing functions of the Office of the President and also to study and investigate the activities of the Bureau of Mines.
  • Garcia, he was made Vice- Chairman of the Presidential Fact-Finding Committee on Customs.
  • Macapagal, he was appointed a member of the Board of Examiners for Mining Engineers.
  • Marcos, he was appointed part-time commissioner of the Pollution Control Commission. He was also a consultant of the Central Bank of the Philippines particularly on the Gold Refinery Project.

Other previous positions of Edgardo included:

  • Universal Cement Corporation, Vice-President.
  • Utility Assurance and Surety Company, Director.
  • Republic Drydock Inc., Director
  • Villavicencio Agro-Mining Corporation, President.
  • Industry Mining Associates, President.
  • Philippine Cement Corporation, President.
  • Agoncillo Realty Corporation, President.
  • Adamson University, Dean of the Mining Engineering and Geology Department. During this tenure, graduates of Adamson where consistently topping the board examinations for Mining Engineers and Geologists.

Edgardo married Pacita Fajardo on August 19. 1940 at the Archbishop's Palace located then in Intramuros, Manila. He met Pacita when he was twenty years old on New Year’s Eve at the La Patria Dance in his hometown of Taal, Batangas in 1935 when she accompanied her younger sister, Corazon "Chong" who was invited by Pepita Gueco and his cousin Irma Villavicencio Martinez. Both joined a tour to China and Japan in 1936 and since tours during that time were in ships and not airplanes, the two spent hours together.

The breakfast reception was held at the Manila Hotel with the following as members of the entourage:

Dona Florencia Gutierrez and General Emilio Aguinaldo as sponsors
Corazon "Chong" del Castillo as maid of honor
Former MWSS General Manager Oscar Ilustre as best man
Sony Lopez Gonzalez, Titchy Lopez Marquez and Ting Lopez Soriano as flower girls
Nephews Commissioner Manuel Abello, ring bearer 
and Dr. Emilio Abello, Jr. as coin bearer.

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