MANILA, Philippines - Enrique "Hank" Aboitiz, the husband of the late Aboitiz family matriarch Ma. Lourdes Mendieta Aboitiz, passed away in his sleep last week.

His body was buried in Cebu on Monday, January 21, relative Luis Miguel Aboitiz confirmed to Rappler. The close-knit family's businesses are headquartered in Cebu.

Mendieta died of cancer on May 23, 2012.

They are the parents of Endika, Erramon, Txabi, Andoni, Sabin, Iker, and Eukene.

Erramon is the president of listed holding firm Aboitiz Equitiy Ventures (AEV), which has stakes in power, banking and financial services, among others.

Enrique, chair of privately held holding firm Aboitiz & Co., and nephew Jon Ramon, the chair of the listed Aboitiz Equity Ventures, have perennially been on Forbes magazine's list of the 40 richest Filipinos.

About 6 generations of the Aboitizes have been in business since their ancestry, which could be traced back to the Basque region in northern Spain, immigrated to Southeast Asia.

The Aboitizes stand alongside the Zobel de Ayalas, who run Ayala Corp., the country's biggest conglomerate, as business families with Spanish lineage. - Rappler.com