Ramón J. Fernández

In 1907 he started a shipping company called Fernández Hermanos with his brothers José and Vicente. In the years that followed, the company grew into one of the largest in the Philippines. Fernández also held many top positions in the Philippine business community over the years and was president of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce.^[1]

In 1913, Fernández was appointed as manager of the San Miguel Corporation, together with Enrique Brías de Coya. In 1918, after the resignation of Antonio Roxas, Ramón J. Fernández assumed the presidency of the company. In 1939, the management of the company was reorganized along the lines of American corporations, and Fernández was elected president of the board of directors.

On February 26, 1941, Fernández and a group of fellow businessmen headed by Andrés Soriano Sr. formally incorporated Philippine Air Lines, Inc.. Fernández and Soriano acquired the franchise of Philippine Aerial Taxi Company, Inc. and renamed it Philippine Air Lines (PAL).^[2] The airline's first flight took place on March 15, 1941,^[3] carrying the founders of the airline as its first passengers – Fernández, Soriano, Juan Miguel Elizalde, John R. Schultz and Ernesto Von Kaufmann.

Political career

In 1920, Fernández was appointed mayor of Manila by American Governor-General Leonard Wood. In July 1923, he resigned after his order to dismiss an American detective for accepting bribes from gambling houses was reversed by Wood. The incident led to the resignation of the Filipino members of Wood's cabinet and subsequently became known as the Cabinet Crisis of 1923.^[4]

Later that year, Fernández was elected to the