Apolonio Aguirre – Who’s Who in Bataan

APOLONIO AGUIRRE of Balanga was the founding father of the Banco Filipino, a national banking institution.

“Polonio” Aguirre was born in Meycauayan, Bulacan on February 7, 1895. Hardened by years of working odd jobs in Bataan, he finally found himself hobnobbing with Balanga’s rich and famous when he opened a jewelry store in town in the early 1920s. His “luxury” store was patronized well and became operationally profitable in just a few months.

Aguirre’s skills as a successful deal-maker impressed many Meycauayan- and Manila-based jewelers so much that they entrusted him with unlimited supply of finely-crafted jewelry. He also ventured into agri-aquaculture and poultry business, construction, metal trading, car and truck marketing. Before reaching the age of 30, Aguirre was already a very wealthy man.

It was in Balanga where he met and married Pilar Banzon, the daughter of Tomas Banzon and Victoria Tiangco. The couple had three children: Tomas, Pedro and Remedios.

Apolonio Aguirre also put up one of the first rural banks in the country. He, together with sons Tomas and Pedro, also established the Agencia de Empenos de A. Aguirre, Aguirre Securities Corporation, Filipino Merchandise Insurance Company, Pilar Development Corporation, BF Homes, Pilar Villages and the Banco Filipino, which became the flagship company of the Aguirres.

The Martial Law regime, unfortunately, devastated nearly all the business interests of the Aguirres in the country. Ferdinand Marcos closed down his companies when he refused to give in to the dictator’s whims and caprices.

The Aguirres have already risen from that economic turbulence. The Aquino government had given back what rightly belongs to them. The Banco Filipino Savings and Mortgage Bank, with main office located in Makati City, re-opened in 1990.

The BF-Balanga branch, which opened for the first time in Poblacion on October 16, 1981, reopened at the corner of Rizal and Zulueta Streets on December 3, 1999. The Aguirres have invested largely in start-ups and built them up into profitable companies all over again.