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THE
Aboitiz clan, an iconic player in the power sector that
has been lately dragged into speculations of a
government-driven takeover of top distribution utility
Manila Electric Co., was in the news again Monday, but
on account of a personal tragedy.
Aboitiz
Group executive Luis Alfonso “Al” Aboitiz was found dead
Sunday night with a single gunshot wound in the head,
according to police authorities. But on Monday morning,
when he was cremated, the police kept mum on the matter.
Reliable
sources said he had shot himself after a prolonged
period of mourning over the death of their mother a few
months ago.
Aboitiz,
48, president and chief operating officer of Davao Light
and Power Co. (DLPC), had died of “a tragic accident,”
according to a source in Cebu City who told the local
Mindanao Daily Mirror in
Davao.
Davao and
Cebu power-sector figures who knew him described him as the most
affable and down-to-earth of the Aboitiz siblings.
Aside
from maintaining the DLPC as one of the best
electric-distribution utilities in the country, Aboitiz
also helped Davao City establish the country’s most
efficient emergency- response and rescue hotline, 911,
patterned after the US and Canada.
After
his Monday morning cremation, the family-controlled
companies went on with their annual stockholders’
meetings in Cebu City.
The body
of Aboitiz was found Sunday night inside the guest room
of their parents’ house in Maria Luisa Village in
northern Cebu City.
Police
investigators initially reported they found no signs of
forced entry into the Aboitiz house.
Aboitiz
was due for reelection to the board of Aboitiz Power but
his nomination was deferred because of his death. All
other board members, including chairman John Ramon
Aboitiz, chief executive Erramon Aboitiz, Mikel Aboitiz
and Ernesto Aboitiz got new one-year terms.
The DLPC
communications officer in Davao City, Ross Luga,
confirmed to news organizations the death of the company
president but could not give further details. “It was a
tragic incident and the family requested that their
privacy be respected at this time,” Aboitiz Equity
Ventures (AEV) assistant vice president for corporate
communications Carl Ballesteros told reporters in Cebu.
“It is
business as usual for the Aboitiz Group; as you can see
we pushed through with our stockholders’ meetings,” she
said.
The
Aboitiz family also begged off from answering questions
at the annual stockholders’ meetings for Aboitiz Power
and AEV Monday at the Marriott Hotel. |
