José E. Romero, Sr. (born José Romero y Muñoz; 3 March 1897 – 23 October 1978), commonly known as José E. Romero, was a statesman and diplomat from the Philippines. He represented Negros Oriental's Second District and was Majority Floor Leader during the

Ninth In music, a ninth is a compound interval consisting of an octave plus a second. Like the second, the interval of a ninth is classified as a dissonance in common practice tonality. Since a ninth is an octave larger than a second, its ...

and Tenth

Philippine Legislature The Philippine Legislature was the legislature of the Philippines from 1907 to 1935, during the American colonial period, and predecessor of the current Congress of the Philippines. It was bicameral and the legislative branch of the Insular Go ...

s and the

First First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

and

Second The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds ...

National Assemblies of the Philippines. He was senator-elect of the

First Congress of the Philippines The 1st Congress of the Philippines (Filipino: ''Unang Kongreso ng Pilipinas''), composed of the Philippine Senate and House of Representatives, met from May 25, 1946, until December 13, 1949, during the 22-month presidency of Manuel Roxas and t ...

and later became the first Philippine ambassador to the United Kingdom and

Secretary of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

Early life and education

Romero was born 3 March 1897, one of three children born to Francisco Romero Sr., mayor of

Tanjay Tanjay, officially the City of Tanjay ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Tanjay; fil, Lungsod ng Tanjay), is a 4th class component city in the province of Negros Oriental, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 82,642 people. It bec ...

, Negros Oriental from 1909 to 1916 and later a member of the

Provincial Board Sangguniang Panlalawigan (abbreviated as SP; ), commonly known as the Provincial Board, are the legislatures in Provinces of the Philippines, Philippine provinces. They are the legislative branches of the provinces, and their powers and responsibi ...

of Negros Oriental, and Josefa Calumpang Muñoz, daughter of Tanjay '' gobernadorcillo'' Don José Teves Muñoz and Doña Aleja Ines Calumpang. His mother died in a stampede that occurred on 24 December 1906 while midnight mass was being celebrated at the St. James the Greater Parish in Tanjay. A group of hooligans falsely announced the approach of ''pulahanes'', a notorious group of bandits, which resulted in a stampede that killed and injured churchgoers rushing to leave the church. Beginning in 1904, he received primary instruction in the public schools of Tanjay where he spent his formative years. In 1905, he moved to study at

Silliman Institute Silliman Institute is a private coeducational school and former segregation academy located in Clinton, Louisiana. It was founded in 1966; a previous school had operated on the site from 1852 to 1931. The school enrolls students from throughout ...

Dumaguete Dumaguete, officially the City of Dumaguete ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Dumaguete; fil, Lungsod ng Dumaguete), is a 3rd income class component city and the capital of the province of Negros Oriental, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a p ...

, Negros Oriental. In 1907, when he was only 10 years old, he was appointed municipal school teacher in Tanjay. From 1908 to 1913, he studied at the Negros Oriental High School for secondary education until he went on to Manila High School where he finished in 1915. As a student in Manila, he was the ward of his father's only sister Adela Romero de Prats and her husband Francisco Prats Mestre. Romero completed his Associate of Arts degree at Silliman Institute and then went on to the

University of the Philippines The University of the Philippines (UP; fil, Pamantasan ng Pilipinas Unibersidad ng Pilipinas) is a state university system in the Philippines. It is the country's national university, as mandated by Republic Act No. 9500 (UP Charter of 200 ...

(UP) to finish a bachelor's degree graduating

cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sou ...

in 1917. As a student at UP, he was awarded first prize in a university-wide poetry contest. He also received the Quezon medal in an oratorical contest and was awarded first prize in the

Philippines Free Press The ''Philippines Free Press'' is a weekly English language news magazine which was founded in 1908, which makes it the Philippines' oldest weekly English language periodical currently still in print. It is known for being one of the few publicati ...

literary contest for UP students. After graduation, he enrolled at the

University of the Philippines College of Law The University of the Philippines College of Law (often referred to as UP Law) is the law school of the University of the Philippines Diliman. Formally established in 1911 in UP Manila, it is the third oldest continually-operating law school ...

but had to temporarily postpone his studies due to ill health. He eventually returned to law school upon recovery and completed his

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

degree in 1922. He was admitted to the Philippine Bar and practiced law in Manila before returning to Negros Oriental in 1924. On 17 July 1918, Romero and

Carlos P. Romulo Carlos Peña Romulo Sr. (January 14, 1898 – December 15, 1985) was a Filipino diplomat, statesman, soldier, journalist and author. He was a reporter at the age of 16, a newspaper editor by 20, and a publisher at 32. He was a co-founder of t ...

led the first student protest march at UP to show support for university president Ignacio Villamor who was then being criticized and defamed by newspaper columnist Manuel Xerez Burgos of

The Manila Times ''The Manila Times'' is the oldest extant English language, English-language newspaper in the Philippines. It is published daily by The Manila Times Publishing Corp. (formerly La Vanguardia Publishing Corporation) with editorial and administrati ...

. In April 1922, Romero was a delegate to the

World Student Christian Federation The World Student Christian Federation (WSCF) is a federation of autonomous national Student Christian Movements (SCM) forming the youth and student arm of the global ecumenical movement. The Federation includes Orthodox, Protestant, Catholic, Pe ...

conference held at

Tsinghua University Tsinghua University (; abbreviation, abbr. THU) is a National university, national Public university, public research university in Beijing, China. The university is funded by the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, Minis ...

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

. Romero published ''The'' ''Rising Philippines'' in 1917, the first English language magazine published by Filipinos, together with Romulo, Mauro Mendez and Fernando Maramag as editor-in-chief. He succeeded Maramag as editor of the ''Philippines'' ''National Weekly'' from 1918 to 1920. Later on, he was the sole owner and publisher of the ''Oriental Negros Chronicle''. Romero also wrote the lyrics of the university hymn of the

Philippine Women's University The Philippine Women's University (PWU) is a tertiary education school which has its main campus in Manila, Philippines. An institution exclusive for girls from its inception until the 1970s, the PWU admits both women and men as its students. ...

Political career

Romero, together with his cousin Angel Calumpang, was elected to the

of Negros Oriental for two consecutive terms from 1925 to 1928 and from 1928 to 1931 during the incumbency of Atilano Villegas as provincial governor. In 1931, he was elected to the

9th Philippine Legislature The Ninth Philippine Legislature was the meeting of the legislature of the Philippines under the sovereign control of the United States from 1931 to 1934. Members Senate Notes House of Representatives Notes See also *Congress of the ...

as representative of Negros Oriental's second district. In 1934, he became majority floor leader replacing Francisco Varona. In the same year, he became a delegate to the 1934 Constitutional Convention that drafted the

1935 Philippine Constitution The Constitution of the Philippines (Filipino: ''Saligang Batas ng Pilipinas'' or ''Konstitusyon ng Pilipinas'', Spanish: ''Constitución de la República de Filipinas'') is the constitution or the supreme law of the Republic of the Philippines ...

. He was reelected to the

10th Philippine Legislature The Tenth Philippine Legislature was the meeting of the legislature of the Philippines under the sovereign control of the United States from 1934 to 1935. Members Senate Notes House of Representatives Notes See also *Congress of the ...

and remained as majority floor leader, which only lasted until the following year when it was effectively replaced by a unicameral national assembly as a result of the 1935 Constitution. In 1935, Romero was elected to the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...

. He served for two consecutive terms from 1935 to 1938 and from 1938 to 1941. He was majority floor leader from 1935 to 1938, and was concurrently chairman of the Congressional standing committees on rules and on education, and ex-officio member of the Board of Regents of the

. He was succeeded as majority floor leader by

Quintin Paredes Quintin (; br, Kintin) is a commune in the Cotes-d'Armor department (Brittany region) in the northwest of France from Saint-Brieuc, the department capital. History The area around Quintin has been occupied since the Neolithic. Early Quintin w ...

in 1938. In 1937, he was appointed by

Manuel L. Quezon Manuel Luis Quezon y Molina, (; 19 August 1878 – 1 August 1944), also known by his initials MLQ, was a Filipino lawyer, statesman, soldier and politician who served as president of the Commonwealth of the Philippines from 1935 until his dea ...

to the Joint Preparatory Committee on Philippine Affairs (JPCPA), which was convened to study the

United States Tariff Commission The United States International Trade Commission (USITC or I.T.C.) is an agency of the United States federal government that advises the legislative and executive branches on matters of trade. It is an independent, bipartisan entity that analyze ...

report and review the trade provisions of the

Tydings–McDuffie Act The Tydings–McDuffie Act, officially the Philippine Independence Act (), is an Act of Congress that established the process for the Philippines, then an American territory, to become an independent country after a ten-year transition period. ...

, officially known as the ''Philippine Independence Act''. In 1939, during a meeting convoked by President Quezon, he called for an indefinite suspension of the planned 1946 Philippine independence, which was under the threat of

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 opposin ...

. Together with fellow assemblymen Salvador Z. Araneta, Tomas Oppus and Carlos Tan, they formed the Philippine Civic League, which conducted education campaigns on the problems and deficiencies of the Philippine independence mission. In 1946, Romero was elected to the

Philippine Senate The Senate of the Philippines (Filipino language, Filipino: ''Senado ng Pilipinas'', also ''Mataas na Kapulungan ng Pilipinas'' or "upper chamber") is the upper house of Congress of the Philippines, Congress of the bicameral legislature of the ...

but was replaced by Prospero Sanidad after a highly politicized electoral protest filed against him and senators-elect Ramon M. Diokno and Jose O. Vera, and elected members of congress belonging to the Democratic Alliance.

Government service

In 1917, after finishing his undergraduate degree, he worked as an assessor at the

Bureau of Customs The Bureau of Customs (abbreviated BoC or BOC; fil, Kawanihan ng Adwana) is a Philippine government agency under the Department of Finance. The Bureau of Customs was established on February 6, 1902 by the Insular Government of the Philippine ...

but only stayed on for four months due to conflicts in schedule with his classes at law school. Romero was appointed as a member of the Philippine Surplus Property Commission by

Manuel Roxas Manuel Acuña Roxas (born Manuel Roxas y Acuña; ; January 1, 1892 – April 15, 1948) was a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the fifth president of the Philippines, who served from 1946 until his death due to heart attacks in 194 ...

in 1948. On 20 August 1949, Romero was appointed by

Elpidio Quirino Elpidio Rivera Quirino (born Elpidio Quirino y Rivera; ; November 16, 1890 – February 29, 1956) was a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the sixth president of the Philippines from 1948 to 1953. A lawyer by profession, Quirino enter ...

as envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary of the Philippine foreign service. He took his oath of office on 6 September 1949 as

minister Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...

of the Philippine Legation to

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, replacing Don Ramon Fernandez who was appointed to the

Philippine Council of State The Council of State of the Philippines is an advisory body composed primarily of senior statesmen who act as advisors to the President of the Philippines, who is both head of state and head of government, as well as Commander-in-Chief of the ...

. He was accredited by the

Court of St. James's The Court of St James's is the royal court for the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. All ambassadors to the United Kingdom are formally received by the court. All ambassadors from the United Kingdom are formally accredited from the court – & ...

on 9 November 1949. The legation was later upgraded to

embassy A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually deno ...

status with Romero serving as the first ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary of the Philippines to the Court of St. James's. While ambassador, he headed the Philippine delegation, which included senator

José Locsin José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced differently in each language: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , is an old vernacul ...

, to the 1953 International Sugar Agreement convened by the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

in London. In 1953, he ended his tour of duty when he resigned to become the representative of the Philippine Sugar Association (PSA) to

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

for whom he was longtime executive officer and secretary-treasurer, and later president. Upon the recommendation of the PSA, he served as a director of the Philippine Sugar Institute (PHILSUGIN), an agency tasked to conduct research work for the sugar industry in all its phases, agricultural and industrial. PHILSUGIN together with the then Sugar Quota Administration (SQA) effectively replaced the Philippine Sugar Administration in 1951. In May 1956, together with

Joaquín M. Elizalde Joaquín or Joaquin is a male given name, the Spanish language, Spanish version of Joachim (given name), Joachim. Given name * Joaquín (footballer, born 1956), Spanish football midfielder * Joaquín (footballer, born 1981), Spanish football wi ...

who was chief delegate, he represented the Philippines at one of the meetings of the United Nations Sugar Conference, which opened at the Headquarters of the United Nations in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. Romero served as

Carlos P. Garcia Carlos Polestico Garcia (November 4, 1896 – June 14, 1971) was a Filipino teacher, poet, orator, lawyer, public official, political economist, guerrilla and Commonwealth military leader who was the eighth president of the Philippines. A l ...

and Diosdado P. Macapagal from 1959 to 1961 and from 1961 to 1962 respectively. He was then concurrently ex-officio chairman of the Jose Rizal National Centennial Commission, a commission created in 1954 by

Ramon Magsaysay Ramon del Fierro Magsaysay Sr. (August 31, 1907 – March 17, 1957) was a Filipino statesman who served as the seventh president of the Philippines, from December 30, 1953, until his death in an aircraft disaster on March 17, 1957. An automo ...

to spearhead preparations for the centenary of

José Rizal José Protasio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda (, ; June 19, 1861 – December 30, 1896) was a Filipino nationalist, writer and polymath active at the end of the Spanish colonial period of the Philippines. He is considered the national he ...

's birth in 1961. He was also ex-officio chairman of the Board of Regents of the

. On 13 August 1959, Romero issued Department Order (D.O.) no. 7, s. 1959 ordering the use of the term ''Pilipino'' as the proper name for the

national language A national language is a language (or language variant, e.g. dialect) that has some connection—de facto or de jure—with a nation. There is little consistency in the use of this term. One or more languages spoken as first languages in the te ...

of the Philippines, which up until that point was referred to as either ''wikang pambansa'' or Tagalog.

Personal life

Marriage and children

He was married to Pilar Guzmán Sinco, a schoolteacher and sister of University of the Philippines president and

United Nations Charter The Charter of the United Nations (UN) is the foundational treaty of the UN, an intergovernmental organization. It establishes the purposes, governing structure, and overall framework of the UN system, including its six principal organs: the ...

signatory Vicente G. Sinco, on 16 June 1923 and had one child: * Edgar Romero (7 July 1924 – 28 May 2013),

National Artist of the Philippines The Order of National Artists of the Philippines (Filipino: ''Orden ng mga Pambansang Alagad ng Sining ng Pilipinas'') is an order bestowed by the Philippines on Filipinos who have made significant contributions to the development of Philippin ...

for Cinema and Broadcast Arts After the death of his first wife in childbirth on 7 July 1927, he married Elisa Zuñiga Villanueva on 6 September 1930. She was the granddaughter of Don Leonardo Villanueva, brother of senator

Hermenegildo Villanueva Hermenegildo Teves Villanueva (September 25, 1876 – December 17, 1941), fondly called Bindoy, was a Filipino politician. He served as Secretary of Labor for Manuel L. Quezon from December 1938 until his resignation in April 1939. Personal li ...

. They had seven children: * Maria Luisa Romero (11 November 1931 – 9 June 1987), married to Pelayo Valera Gabaldón, grandson of Filipino statesman Isauro Gabaldón and nephew of Ramon O. Valera,

for Fashion Design. * Jose Emeterio Romero Jr. (4 May 1934 - 10 September 2018), former Philippine ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

; co-founder of the

Makati Business Club The Makati Business Club is a private non-profit business association in the Philippines founded in 1981 to promote the role of the business sector in national development efforts. Counting senior executives from some of the Philippines' largest ...

; former permanent representative to the

Food and Agriculture Organization The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)french: link=no, Organisation des Nations unies pour l'alimentation et l'agriculture; it, Organizzazione delle Nazioni Unite per l'Alimentazione e l'Agricoltura is an intern ...

and the

International Fund for Agricultural Development The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD; french: link=no, Fonds international de développement agricole (FIDA)) is an international financial institution and a specialised agency of the United Nations that works to address ...

; former executive director of the

Common Fund for Commodities The Common Fund for Commodities (CFC) is an intergovernmental financial institution established within the framework of the United Nations. It is a vestige of the proposed New International Economic Order. The CFC finances commodity development ...

; former chairman of the

Philippine Coconut Authority The Philippine Coconut Authority ( fil, Pangasiwaan sa Niyog ng Pilipinas, abbreviated as PCA or PHILCOA) is an agency of the Philippine government under the Department of Agriculture (from 2014 to 2018, under the Office of the President of the ...

; formerly married to Carmelita Beatriz Corominas, niece of Anita Corominas-Guerrero, wife of Leon Ma. Guerrero III. * Teresita Romero (died in 1992), married in 1961 to lawyer Ricardo J. Romulo, son of Filipino statesman

. * Jose Ernesto Romero, president of the Georgetown Club of the Philippines. * Jose Rodolfo Romero, lawyer and journalist. * Raquel Romero-Smith, retired diplomat and civil servant. * George Albert Romero, former diplomat and civil servant.

''SS Corregidor''

On 17 December 1941, he was aboard the ill-fated ''SS'' Corregidor when it hit a mine off the coast of Manila Bay where his cousin Juanito Calumpang, an academic supervisor of the Department of Education, and his daughter died. His wife's great-uncle

and his son also perished in the incident.

Ancestry

Romero's paternal grandfather emigrated from

Sanlúcar de Barrameda Sanlúcar de Barrameda (), or simply Sanlúcar, is a city in the northwest of Cádiz province, part of the autonomous community of Andalucía in southern Spain. Sanlúcar is located on the left bank at the mouth of the Guadalquivir River oppos ...

in the middle of the 19th century. His maternal family was descended from gentry who were part of the

Principalía The ''principalía'' or Nobility, noble class was the ruling and usually educated upper class in the ''Municipality, pueblos'' of History of the Philippines (1521–1898), Spanish Philippines, comprising the ''gobernadorcillo'' (later called th ...

. His maternal grandfather Don José Teves Muñoz was the last '' gobernadorcillo'' and ''capitan municipal'' of

who became the town's first ''presidente municipal'' in 1901. His maternal grandmother Doña Aleja Ines Calumpang was descended from the leading family of the town of Tanjay at the turn of the 19th century where they loomed over local affairs and politics serving as ''cabezas de barangay'' and ''gobernadorcillos'', including his grand uncle Don Agapito Calumpang, a ''gobernadorcillo'' who later became the first ''vice presidente municipal'' of Tanjay. His maternal grandmother was a great-granddaughter of Don Fernando Velaz de Medrano Bracamonte y Dávila ( es), Marquis of Tabuérniga de Velazar ( es), 15th Marquis of Cañete ( GE) ( es), 6th Marquis of Fuente el Sol ( es), 8th Marquis of Navamorcuende ( es), 15th Lord of Montalbo, and Knight of the

Order of Malta The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta ( it, Sovrano Militare Ordine Ospedaliero di San Giovanni di Gerusalemme, di Rodi e di Malta; ...

who was exiled to the Philippines in 1781. Through his maternal grandmother, Romero was a descendant of

Alfonso XI of Castile Alfonso XI (13 August 131126 March 1350), called the Avenger (''el Justiciero''), was King of Castile and León. He was the son of Ferdinand IV of Castile and his wife Constance of Portugal. Upon his father's death in 1312, several disputes en ...

through four of his sons:

Peter of Castile Peter ( es, Pedro; 30 August 133423 March 1369), called the Cruel () or the Just (), was King of Castile and León from 1350 to 1369. Peter was the last ruler of the main branch of the House of Ivrea. He was excommunicated by Pope Urban V for ...

, the twins Henry II of Castile and Fadrique Alfonso, 1st Lord of Haro, and Sancho Alfonso, 1st Count of Albuquerque. Through Peter of Castile's mother Maria of Portugal, he was also a descendant of

Afonso IV of Portugal Afonso IVEnglish: ''Alphonzo'' or ''Alphonse'', or ''Affonso'' (Archaic Portuguese), ''Alfonso'' or ''Alphonso'' (Portuguese-Galician) or ''Alphonsus'' (Latin). (; 8 February 129128 May 1357), called the Brave ( pt, o Bravo, links=no), was King ...

Later life and death

In 1961, Romero together with

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

Justices Jose B.L. Reyes and Calixto Zaldivar,

Central Bank A central bank, reserve bank, or monetary authority is an institution that manages the currency and monetary policy of a country or monetary union, and oversees their commercial banking system. In contrast to a commercial bank, a central ba ...

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Miguel Cuaderno Sr. Miguel Cuaderno Sr. (December 12, 1890 – January 14, 1975) was the 17th Finance Secretary of the Philippines under Manuel Roxas and the first Governor of the Central Bank of the Philippines The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (; commonly abbre ...

, and Senator Salvador Z. Araneta founded the Philippine Constitution Association (PHILCONSA) to defend, preserve and protect the Constitution. A longtime member of the

Nacionalista Party The Nacionalista Party (Filipino and Spanish: ''Partido Nacionalista''; ) is the oldest political party in both the Philippines and in Southeast Asia in general. It is responsible for leading the country throughout the majority of the 20th ce ...

, he ran for a seat in the senate during the

1961 Philippine Senate election A senatorial election was held on November 14, 1961 in the Philippines. The two candidates of the Progressive Party, guest candidates of the Liberal Party, topped the election, while the Liberals themselves won four seats cutting the Nacionalista ...

but lost where all but two candidates of the Nacionalista ticket, Lorenzo S. Sumulong and Jose J. Roy, won. In 1970, he ran for a seat as delegate to the Constitutional Convention that year representing the first district of Negros Oriental but lost. In 1973, Romero became president of Bel-Air Village Association, which manages Barangay Bel-Air, a gated community in Makati City, where he was a resident. Romero died on 23 October 1978 in

Manila, Philippines 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 populated ...

and is buried at the Manila North Cemetery.