MANILA, Philippines?The cofounder of the country?s largest mobile phone firm died at the height of Tropical Storm ?Ondoy? (international codename: Ketsana), when the perimeter wall of his home collapsed on him, according to a company official.

In a text message to the Philippine Daily Inquirer, Smart Communications Inc. spokesperson Ramon Isberto confirmed that company pioneer David T. Fernando was killed on Saturday.

Details remained sketchy as of press time, but people familiar with the situation said that Fernando was killed when the wall of his house at Loyola Grand Villas subdivision in Quezon City fell on him.

?[The structure] may have been weakened by rains,? said a company official who declined to be identified.

On Monday, the company circulated an internal memo saying that Fernando?s remains lay at the Christ the King Church in Green Meadows subdivision, Quezon City.

?Dave, as he was fondly called, served as chief technology officer and head of fixed network of Smart,? the memo read.

?He was instrumental in developing the technology roadmap and initial roll-out of cellular, fixed and backbone networks of the company.?

The memo described Fernando as ?a maverick in the telecoms pre-liberalization era, who envisioned the state of the art and creative solutions for the telecoms industry.?

?He was an active member of the Philippine Electronics and Telecommunications Federation for 20 years, and accorded the Outstanding ECE Award,? the company said.