Daniel Zialcita Romualdez (September 11, 1907 – March 22, 1965) was a

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

politician who served as

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** I ...

of the

House of Representatives of the Philippines The House of Representatives of the Philippines ( fil, Kapulungan ng mga Kinatawan ng Pilipinas, italic=unset, ''Kamara'' or ''Kamara de Representantes'' from the Spanish word ''cámara'', meaning "chamber") is the lower house of Congress, the ...

from 1957 to 1962. He was first cousin to former First Lady

Imelda Marcos Imelda Romualdez Marcos (; born Imelda Remedios Visitacion Trinidad Romualdez; July 2, 1929) is a Filipino politician who served as the First Lady of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986, wielding significant political power during the dictato ...

Early life

Daniel "Danieling" Romualdez was born in

Tolosa, Leyte Tolosa, officially the Municipality of Tolosa ( war, Bungto han Tolosa; tl, Bayan ng Tolosa), is a 5th class municipality in the province of Leyte, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 20,708 people. It is located ...

. He was enrolled at the

University of Santo Tomas The University of Santo Tomas (also known as UST and officially as the Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas, Manila) is a private, Catholic research university in Manila, Philippines. Founded on April 28, 1611, by Spanish friar Migue ...

Sampaloc, Manila Sampaloc is a district of Manila, Philippines. It is referred to as the University Belt or simply called ''“U-Belt”'' for numerous colleges and universities are found within the district such as the University of Santo Tomas, the oldest ext ...

and obtained his law degree in 1931.

Ancestors

Romualdez' father was Don Miguel Lopez Romualdez, assemblyman for Leyte and

Mayor of Manila The City Mayor of Manila ( fil, Punong Lungsod ng Maynila, sometimes referred to as, ''Alkalde ng Maynila'') is the head of the executive branch of Manila's city government. The mayor holds office at Manila City Hall. Like all local government he ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. His mother was Brigida Zialcita of Manila. Romualdez' father was the second of the three sons of Trinidad "Tidad" Lopez, eldest daughter of Spanish friar, Don Francisco Lopez of Granada,

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

(later of

Burauen Burauen (IPA: u'ɾaʊen, officially the Municipality of Burauen ( war, Bungto han Burauen; tl, Bayan ng Burauen), is a 1st class municipality in the province of Leyte, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 52,511 peo ...

Leyte Leyte ( ) is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census. Since the accessibility of land has be ...

), and Daniel Romuáldez of

Pandacan Pandacan is a district in Manila, Philippines which is known in recent history for its former Pandacan oil depot which supplies the majority of oil exports in the country. Profile In 2000, Pandacan had a total population of close to 82,194. T ...

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

, a tuberculosis survivor and

Cabeza de Barangay A ''cabeza de barangay'' (literally "head of hebarangay), also known as ''teniente del barrio'', was the leader or chief of a barangay or barrio in the Philippines during the Spanish colonial period.Scott, William Henry. ''Barangay Sixteenth-Cen ...

. His paternal grandfather Daniel was owner of the Malacañang Gardens, the huge expanse of land dedicated to entertaining guests of Philippine presidents.

Philippine Supreme Court The Supreme Court ( fil, Kataas-taasang Hukuman; colloquially referred to as the ''Korte Suprema'' lso used in formal writing is the highest court in the Philippines. The Supreme Court was established by the Second Philippine Commission on Ju ...

Associate Justice

Norberto Romualdez Norberto Romuáldez y López (June 6, 1875 – November 4, 1941), often referred to as Norberto Romuáldez Sr. to distinguish him from his son with the same name, was a Philippine writer, politician, jurist, and statesman. He was the first Lopez ...

was his uncle. Another uncle, Dean Vicente Orestes Romuáldez y Lopez, was the father of

and grandfather of the current Tacloban Mayor Alfred Romualdez. Romualdez' great-grandfather was involved in the Sumuroy Revolt but narrowly escaped Spanish execution when he was allowed by David Dulay to visit his ailing mother.

Family

Romualdez' siblings include Attorney Estela Zialcita Romualdez Sulit married to Mariano Sulit, Miguel Zialcita Romualdez Jr. married to Cecilia

Planas Planas is a barrio in the municipality of Isabela, Puerto Rico. Its population in 2010 was 2,075. History Puerto Rico was ceded by Spain in the aftermath of the Spanish–American War under the terms of the Treaty of Paris of 1898 and became an ...

(distantly related to Rosario Planas), Alberto Zialcita Romualdez married to the Spanish mestiza Covadonga del Gallego of

Paco Paco is a Spanish nickname for Francisco. According to folk etymology, the nickname has its origins in Saint Francis of Assisi, who was the father of the Franciscan order; his name was written in Latin by the order as ''Pater Communitatis'' (fath ...

(their son is former

Department of Health A health department or health ministry is a part of government which focuses on issues related to the general health of the citizenry. Subnational entities, such as states, counties and cities, often also operate a health department of their ow ...

Secretary Alberto G. Romualdez), Amelia Zialcita Romualdez Janairo married to Maximiano Janairo, Froilan Zialcita Romualdez married to Josefina Cervo and Philippine Central Bank Governor Eduardo Romualdez married to Concepcion Veloso, popularly nicknamed Conchita, who also hailed from a powerful

political family. He was married to Paz "Pacing" Gueco of

Magalang Magalang, officially the Municipality of Magalang ( pam, Balen ning Magalang; tl, Bayan ng Magalang), is a 1st class municipality in the province of Pampanga, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 124,188 people. Mag ...

Pampanga Pampanga, officially the Province of Pampanga ( pam, Lalawigan ning Pampanga; tl, Lalawigan ng Pampanga ), is a province in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines. Lying on the northern shore of Manila Bay, Pampanga is bordered by Tarlac ...

, member of the Kahirup, an aunt of

Benigno Aquino Jr. Benigno "Ninoy" Simeon Aquino Jr., (; November 27, 1932 – August 21, 1983) was a Filipino politician who served as a senator of the Philippines (1967–1972) and governor of the province of Tarlac. Aquino was the husband of Corazon Aqui ...

from nearby Concepcion,

Tarlac Tarlac, officially the Province of Tarlac ( pam, Lalawigan ning Tarlac; pag, Luyag/Probinsia na Tarlac; ilo, Probinsia ti Tarlac; tgl, Lalawigan ng Tarlac; ), is a landlocked province in the Philippines located in the Central Luzon region. It ...

, and heiress to vast tracts of ricelands from her

Chinese-Filipino Chinese Filipinos; tl, Tsinoy, / Tsinong Pilipino, ; Philippine Hokkien , Mandarin (also known as Filipino Chinese in the Philippines) are Filipinos of Chinese descent, mostly of southern Fujianese ancestry, where the majority are bor ...

Gueco clan. He has four daughters. Seeing the potential of his cousin

, who was by then the undisputed Rose of Tacloban title holder and was renowned throughout the provinces for her singing voice, Danieling and other cousin Loreto Romualdez Ramos brought Imelda to Manila. His first cousin once removed, Daniel Gomez Romualdez, was a

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

architect and son of former ambassador and governor Benjamin Trinidad Romualdez (brother of

) and that of the son of Froilan Romualdez and Josefina Cerbo named Daniel Cerbo Romualdez.

Political career

Romualdezes were original members of the Nacionalista Party and his old home on Dapitan Street Extension,

Quezon City Quezon City (, ; fil, Lungsod Quezon ), also known as the City of Quezon and Q.C. (read in Filipino as Kyusi), is the most populous city in the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 2,960,048 people. It was fou ...

, was its regular meeting place. Romualdez first entered politics in 1949 when he was elected to represent the Fourth District of Leyte in the House of Representatives. A member of the Nacionalista Party, Romualdez was re-elected in 1953 and 1957. In 1961, Romualdez was elected Representative of the First District of Leyte. During the

3rd Congress of the Philippines The 3rd Congress of the Philippines ( Filipino: ''Ikatlong Kongreso ng Pilipinas''), composed of the Philippine Senate and House of Representatives, met from January 25, 1954, until December 10, 1957, during the 39-month presidency of Ramon Mags ...

, Romualdez served as Speaker Pro-Tempore. After House Speaker

Jose Laurel Jr. Jose Bayani "Pepito" Hidalgo Laurel Jr. (August 27, 1912 – March 11, 1998), also known as Jose B. Laurel Jr., was a Filipinos, Filipino politician who was elected twice as Speaker of the Philippine House of Representatives, speaker of the Hous ...

vacated his congressional seat in 1957 following an unsuccessful bid for the Vice-Presidency, Romualdez replaced him as Speaker upon the opening of the 4th Congress in 1957. Romualdez served as Speaker until March 1962, when his Nacionalista Party ceded its congressional majority to the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

Cornelio Villareal Cornelio T. Villareal (September 11, 1904 – December 22, 1992) was a Filipino politician who served as Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Philippines from 1962 to 1967, and again from 1971 to 1972. Popularly known as Kune, his ...

succeeded him as Speaker. Romualdez assumed the post of Minority Floor Leader, in which capacity he was serving upon his death in office from a heart attack in 1965.Paras, p. 112

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Romualdez, Daniel Z. 1965 deaths People from Leyte (province) People from Pandacan Speakers of the House of Representatives of the Philippines Members of the House of Representatives of the Philippines from Leyte (province) University of Santo Tomas alumni 1907 births Nacionalista Party politicians 20th-century Filipino lawyers Daniel Minority leaders of the House of Representatives of the Philippines Deputy Speakers of the House of Representatives of the Philippines Filipino people of Spanish descent