Bienvenido R. Tantoco Sr., the man behind luxury giant Rustan’s Group of Companies, has passed away at 1:06 in the morning, July 6. The news was confirmed by Susan Joven, a long-time public relations consultant for Rustan’s. The former ambassador to the Vatican and PeopleAsia Lifetime Achievement Awardee for 2015 was 100 years old.
Prior to becoming the Philippines’ “father of luxury retail” and chairman emeritus of Rustan’s Group of Companies (RGOC), Bienvenido Tantoco Sr. was simply Benny, a smart and industrious lad from Bulacan who had dreams that were too big for his little provincial town. “I wanted to travel around the world, and see different places, make lots of friends, experience many places, and eat different kinds of food,” he shared with a sheepish smile, during his exclusive interview with Kristel Dacumos-Lagorza for PeopleAsia in 2014.
Aside from building a luxury business empire with his wife Glecy, who passed away in 1994, Benny was also credited for laying down the groundwork for the canonization of Lorenzo Ruiz, the first Filipino saint to be venerated by the Catholic Church. He was also a political force who, during the tumultuous and highly sensitive years of the Marcos regime, proved pivotal in maintaining the dialogue between the State and the Church through diplomacy.
Another feather was added to his cap when the esteemed diplomat was decorated with the Order of Merit of the Republic of Italy, rank of Commander, the highest award given by the Republic of Italy to a non-Italian. He was also conferred The Grand Cross pro Merito Melitensi by The Chancellor of the Sovereign Military Order of St. John of Jerusalem.
Then approaching his 94th birthday, Benny also revealed in the same interview that he had intended on “taking a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, (exploring) South America, and visiting cities such as Budapest.” There were no other wish Lolo Benny hoped to fulfill back then. “Wala na. Ninety-three na ako. Matanda na ako. Malapit na isang daang taon na ako (I cannot wish for more, I’m nearing a hundred years old),” he also said.
