Carlos Dominguez III


Carlos "Sonny" García Domínguez III is a Filipino businessman and former chief executive of Philippine Airlines who is the 31st Secretary of Finance under President Rodrigo Duterte. He had previously held the position of Secretary of Agriculture and Minister of Natural Resources under the Corazon Aquino presidential administration. Prior to his appointment to President Duterte's Cabinet, he had served as executive director of PTFC Redevelopment Corp., as independent director of Alsons Consolidated Resources, and as director of United Paragon Mining Corp. His family owns Marco Polo Hotel in Davao City, one of the top hotels in southern Mindanao.

Early life and education

Domínguez comes from a prominent Zamboangueño family in Davao City. Born on September 16, 1945 in Zamboanga, he is the son of Carlos Domínguez II and Virginia Ubeda García. His grandfather Carlos Domínguez Sr. was a pre-World War II manager of the Bank of the Philippine Islands in Zamboanga. He grew up in Davao and attended elementary and high school at the Ateneo de Davao University where he was a classmate of President Rodrigo Duterte. He moved to Manila for his college studies at the Ateneo de Manila University. Domínguez graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics in 1965 and received a Master of Business Administration from the same university in 1969. He also pursued post-graduate studies in California, U.S. where he completed the Executive Program from Stanford University's Graduate School of Business in 1982.

Career and businesses

Earlier in his career, Domínguez joined the Bank of the Philippine Islands after finishing a short executive course from Stanford. He was President of the BPI Agricultural Development Bank for two years before being invited by President Corazon Aquino to join her new government. He assumed the leadership of the Ministry of Natural Resources in 1986 and the Department of Agriculture in 1987 while also serving as Director of the government-owned Land Bank of the Philippines.
After leaving government service in 1989, Domínguez entered the tobacco, real estate, retail, mining and energy industries and served in various executive positions in companies such as the Retail Specialist, Inc., Philippine Tobacco Flue-Curing and Redrying Corp., Baesa Redevelopment Corp., Halifax Capital Resources, and United Paragon Mining Corp. He joined the Philippine Airlines in 1993 and served as its Chairman until 1995.
In his long business career after government, Domínguez also worked as Chairman and Director of RCBC Capital Corp. and President of Shangri-la Plaza Corp., Northern Mindanao Power Corp., Easycall Communications Philippines, Lafayette Philippines, Transnational Diversified Group, Central Azucarera Don Pedro and as Independent Director of Roxas Holdings. From 2001 to 2003, he served as Director of Meralco. He was also recently involved in the 2016 presidential campaign of his childhood friend and high school classmate Rodrigo Duterte as his fundraising and campaign finance manager.

Personal life

Domínguez is married to Cynthia "Ball" Andrews, the daughter of the late Col. Antonio Andrews of the PAF Flying School Class of 1949, and one of the pioneers of the Philippine Air Force. They have four children, Rafael, Mary Edwina, Ignacio and Xavier.