He was the Minister of Finance of the Philippines under President Cory Aquino, appointed in 1986 after having played an instrumental role in her campaign.

Ongpin was a 1958 graduate of the Ateneo de Manila University and from Harvard Business School in 1962.

He committed suicide on December 7, 1987,[2] at age 48, just three months after having been dismissed from the government on September 14, in a cabinet reorganization that followed a military coup attempt.

His wife Isabel was quoted as saying: "He had been depressed about infighting in Aquino's cabinet and disappointed that the 'People Power' uprising which had toppled dictator Ferdinand Marcos had not brought significant change".

For his contributions to the restoration of Philippine democracy and his opposition to the Marcos dictatorship, Ongpin's name was enshrined at the Bantayog ng mga Bayani in 2001.