Basic Information
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Feliciano Genuino Salonga Jr. |
| Birth | January 23, 1929, Manila, Philippines |
| Death | January 29, 2016, Olongapo City, Zambales (age 87) |
| Nationality | Filipino |
| Occupations | Naval officer, maritime executive, public administrator |
| Military Service | Philippine Navy (1953–1960); Philippine Coast Guard Auxiliary (Rear Admiral; Aids-to-Navigation Group) |
| Education | U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, BS Marine Engineering (1953); MBA coursework, University of the Philippines (1959–1960) |
| Key Leadership Roles | Chairman, Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (2006–2011); President/Executive roles in shipbuilding, shipping, and energy firms |
| Parents | Feliciano Pingol Salonga Sr.; Florentina Genuino |
| Partner/Spouse(s) | María Ligaya Alcantara Imutan; earlier marriage to Luz Austria Cruz (1953) noted in some records |
| Children | Leo (b. 1969), Lea (b. 1971), Gerard (b. 1973) |
| Grandchildren | Nicole “Nic” Chien (b. 2006), Antonio Salonga (approx. b. 2012), Carmen Salonga (approx. b. 2015) |
| Honors & Community Titles | Adopted Son of Subic (1989); Adopted Son of Zambales (2005); Blue Falcon Award (2006); multiple professional citations |
| Resting Place | Finones Memorial Garden Cemetery, San Felipe, Zambales |
Early Years and Family Roots
Born in 1929 in Manila, Feliciano Genuino Salonga Jr. was the eldest son in a family known for its hard work and wartime experiences. His American father. From 1942 to 1945, a Navy boilerman from Porac, Pampanga, was Missing in Action, giving the household a silent seriousness. Feliciano, a firstborn raised in uncertainty and perseverance, took up responsibilities early. Lourdes, Remedios, and Rosario were part of a large Pampanga-based clan, while others remained private, indicating a family that valued seclusion even as some of its members became famous.
Military Service and Maritime Training
From the start, Salonga navigated choppy waters. He graduated from U.S. in 1951 and moved to New York. Merchant Marine Academy in 1953 with a marine engineering degree and academic honours. He joined the Philippine Navy that year and served until 1960. He became intelligence officer and chief engineering officer after training in intelligence (1954) and mine sweeping (1956). Naval discipline and postwar nation-building shaped his executive style for decades.
He later joined the Philippine Coast Guard Auxiliary, rising to the honorary rank of Rear Admiral and heading the Aids-to-Navigation Group, a role that mirrored his career-long preoccupation with keeping ships—and institutions—on a safe, charted course.
From Navy to Industry: A Career Built Like a Shipyard
Following his naval service, Salonga shifted into the commercial sector, where he became a builder not only of vessels but of organizations, markets, and policy bridges. His trajectory reads like a ledger of the Philippines’ maritime and industrial growth.
| Years | Role | Organization |
|---|---|---|
| 1960–1963 | Senior Department Head, R&D | Philippine Packing Corporation |
| 1966–1980 | Marketing Director | Dynamarine Corporation |
| 1973–1980 | President & General Manager | B.B. Fischer & Company, Inc. |
| 1980–1983 | Chairman | Traders Industrial Supply Co., Inc. |
| 1981–1984 | Commercial Manager | PNOC Marine Corporation |
| 1982 | Technical Committee Member | American Bureau of Shipping |
| 1984–1987 | VP for Marketing | Philippine Shipyard & Engineering Corp. (PSEC) |
| 1987–1994 | President & General Manager | PSEC |
| 1994 | Presidential Citation (privatization) | National recognition |
| 1994–1999 | Executive Chairman | Sabah Shipyard Philippines, Inc. |
| 1996–1998 | Member, East Asia Committee | Lloyd’s Register of Shipping (London) |
| 1997–1999 | President | Ganda Energy & Holdings, Inc. |
| 2006–2011 | Chairman | Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority |
The highlights tell a story of steady ascent: technical competency refined into executive judgment, project management expanding into policy stewardship, and steady hands translating dockyard realities into national development gains.
Leadership at Subic and Community Honors
From 2006 until 2011, Salonga chaired the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority, a vital trade, shipbuilding, and investment hub. Subic, a place of tides, cranes, timetables, and steel, remained a national hub under his leadership. Local communities recognised his effect with Adopted Son of Subic (1989) and Adopted Son of Zambales (2005), while professional circles recognised his management efforts with the Blue Falcon (2006) and several professional accomplishment awards.
These titles were not mere decorations. They marked a pattern: he brought businesses to deeper waters without capsizing community priorities, and he treated public stewardship with the seriousness of a seasoned mariner reading the weather.
Family Life: Partners, Children, and Grandchildren
His private life was intentionally more private than his public one. According to documents, he married Luz Austria Cruz in 1953 and then coupled with María Ligaya Alcantara Imutan, mother to his famous children. His children knew him as an erudite, well-spoken father whose reserve at home often contrasted with his command in public. The world knew him as a shipbuilder and institution builder.
- Children:
- Leo Salonga (b. 1969), who has kept a quiet profile away from the limelight.
- Maria Lea Carmen “Lea” Salonga (b. 1971), the Tony Award-winning actress and global concert artist.
- Gerard Imutan Salonga (b. 1973), an acclaimed conductor and arranger with orchestras in the Philippines and abroad.
- Grandchildren:
- Nicole “Nic” Chien (b. 2006).
- Antonio Salonga (approx. b. 2012).
- Carmen Salonga (approx. b. 2015).
Accounts from his children sketch a man of discipline and intellect, a figure perhaps sanded by wartime legacies, who nonetheless laid down a navigational chart of diligence and learning that the next generation followed in their own arts and sciences.
Personality and Legacy
Salonga was a pragmatic, stable, and exact leader, according to colleagues. Homeowners remember a more subdued presence, like the breakwater you rarely notice until the storm. According to his daughter, the reserve sprang from a father who survived World War II. In this view, stoicism was a shield.
His legacy is less about headlines than infrastructure: shipyards that kept humming, auxiliary lights that stayed lit, and institutions that withstood the crosswinds of politics and economics. If fame belonged to others in the family, foundation belonged to him.
Recent Mentions and Cultural Echoes
Feliciano G. Salonga is remembered mostly through his children’s stories following his 2016 death. A 2025 broadcast genealogical feature revealed the family’s wartime scars and postwar virtues, reviving respect for the unglamorous grit that often underpins great lives. Memorial films, community remembrances, and family posts appear like buoys in a large bay, indicating his lasting impact on ports, people, and a name that now appears on boardroom minutes and Broadway marquees.
Timeline at a Glance
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1929 | Born in Manila (January 23) |
| 1951 | Relocated to New York for maritime studies |
| 1953 | Graduated USMMA; commissioned in the Philippine Navy |
| 1954 | Completed intelligence specialist training |
| 1956 | Completed mine sweeping training |
| 1959–1960 | MBA coursework, University of the Philippines |
| 1960–1963 | Philippine Packing Corporation (R&D leadership) |
| 1966–1980 | Dynamarine Corporation (marketing) |
| 1969 | Birth of son Leo |
| 1971 | Birth of daughter Lea |
| 1973 | Birth of son Gerard |
| 1984–1994 | Senior leadership at PSEC (eventually President & GM) |
| 1989 | Named Adopted Son of Subic |
| 1994 | Presidential Citation for privatization efforts |
| 1994–1999 | Executive Chairman, Sabah Shipyard Philippines |
| 1997–1999 | President, Ganda Energy & Holdings |
| 2005 | Named Adopted Son of Zambales |
| 2006 | Blue Falcon Award |
| 2006–2011 | Chairman, Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority |
| 2016 | Died in Olongapo City (January 29) |
FAQ
Who was Feliciano Genuino Salonga?
A Filipino naval officer turned maritime and public-sector leader, he is also known as the father of Lea and Gerard Salonga.
What was his military background?
He served in the Philippine Navy from 1953 to 1960 and later became a Rear Admiral in the Philippine Coast Guard Auxiliary.
What did he study?
He graduated from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in 1953 with a degree in marine engineering and pursued MBA coursework at the University of the Philippines.
What were his most notable roles?
He led the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (2006–2011) and held top posts in shipbuilding, shipping, and energy companies.
Did he receive any honors?
Yes—among them Adopted Son of Subic (1989), Adopted Son of Zambales (2005), and the Blue Falcon Award (2006).
Who were his parents?
His parents were Feliciano Pingol Salonga Sr., a U.S. Navy boilerman who was MIA during WWII, and Florentina Genuino.
Was he married?
He partnered with María Ligaya Alcantara Imutan; some records also note an earlier 1953 marriage to Luz Austria Cruz.
Who are his children?
Leo, Maria Lea Carmen “Lea,” and Gerard, with grandchildren including Nic, Antonio, and Carmen.
When and where did he die?
He passed away on January 29, 2016, in Olongapo City, Zambales.
Was he wealthy?
No public figures are available, but his senior executive posts suggest financial stability.
