Romeo Castillo MananQuil was a consistent scholar before he graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts, cum laude, from the University of the Philippines. While still a student, he started illustrating for Liwayway, the country’s top vernacular magazine. Upon graduation, he went into advertising but distinguished himself as an illustrator, winning a 2nd prize in comics illustration. His artworks were used as magazine covers, for a book on Carlos P. Romulo by National artist Nick Joaquin, and the 10-volume “Filipino Heritage” by Alfredo Roces. In 1983, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas hired him to design, with 2 others, the 1985 series of Philippine bank notes & coins, particularly, the 1st decagonal 2 peso coin, the now demonetized 5 pesos and the 1000 pesos still in circulation. His “Declaration of Philippine Independence” 5-peso vignette was adapted for the big 100,000 peso centennial note, a Guinness Book of Record holder.

In 1967, MananQuil joined the arts faculty of the University of the East and later went back to advertising. This signaled his entry into serious painting with a couple of 2-man shows, a solo exhibition and about a hundred group shows in the Philippines, Australia, U. S. and Canada. The U.P. College of Fine Arts took him to its faculty in 1977 where he rose from Instructor to Assistant Professor to Department Chairman to Artist-in-Residence. In 1978, MananQuil did his first mural at the SEARCA Bldg in U.P. Los Banos.

Romi’s flourishing Philippine career took a halt when he moved to Canada with his family in 1985. In 1988, he founded the Philippine Artists Group of Canada (PAG) to unite the Filipino artists and propagate Philippine arts in Canada, became its first president and headed it for 14 years. In 2004, he lead the PAG and guests artists from the U.S., France, and the Philippines for the group’s 1st Philippine show. As a sought after portraitist, MananQuil is now a member of the prestigious Portrait Society of America. Lately, he went back to teaching by conducting workshops in Oil Painting & Portraiture for upcoming artists.