Michael Odylon "Mikee" Lagman Romero (; born March 21, 1972) is a Filipino businessman, politician, and
polo player who previously served as a
House Deputy Speaker from 2019 to 2022, except for a 12-day period out of office in October 2020 due to a
House leadership crisis. He is concurrently serving as a
Party-list
An electoral list is a grouping of candidates for election, usually found in proportional or mixed electoral systems, but also in some plurality electoral systems. An electoral list can be registered by a political party (a party list) or can ...
Representative
Representative may refer to:
Politics
* Representative democracy, type of democracy in which elected officials represent a group of people
* House of Representatives, legislative body in various countries or sub-national entities
* Legislator, som ...
for
1-Pacman
The One Patriotic Coalition of Marginalized Nationals (abbreviated as 1-Pacman, and a namesake of Manny Pacquiao) is a political party-list based in the Philippines advocating for the marginalized and displaced sector in the country. In the 2016 ...
since 2016. He is also the president of the
Party-list Coalition, an alliance of more than 50 representatives from various
party-lists.
As a businessman, he is currently the chairman and president of Globalport 900, Inc. and owns the
NorthPort Batang Pier
The NorthPort Batang Pier is a Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) team that first played in the 2012–13 PBA season. The team took over the franchise of the Powerade Tigers in 2012 after it was sold to Sultan 900 Capital, Inc. Besides No ...
basketball team in the
Philippine Basketball Association
The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) is a men's professional basketball league in the Philippines composed of twelve company-branded franchised teams. Founded in 1975, it is the first professional basketball league in Asia and is the se ...
(PBA).
As of December 2018, his declared net worth is
₱ 7.858 billion.
He is the Philippines' richest Congress representative and is among the country's 50 richest persons.
Business career
Romero serves as Chairman of the Board of Globalport 900, Inc. (), formerly MIC Holdings Corp, since June 7, 2012. He graduated Bachelor of Arts from
De La Salle University (while also played for the university's varsity basketball team) and a Masters in Business Management from the
Asian Institute of Management
The Asian Institute of Management (AIM) is an international management school and research institution. It is one of the few business schools in Asia to be internationally accredited with the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Busines ...
. He also holds two doctorate degrees in Business Administration and Political Economics coming from the
International Academy of Management and Economics
International Academy of Management and Economics or IAME is a private, non-sectarian, degree-granting educational institution in Makati, Philippines.
History
In 1979, IAME's precursor was established under the name International University Fo ...
(an institution closed by the
Commission on Higher Education) and De La Salle University.
He is also Chief Executive Officer of Harbour Centre Port Terminal, Inc., Chairman of Manila North Harbour Port, Inc., Chairman of Mikro-tech Capital, Inc., CEO of Pacifica, Inc. He is the Chairman of 168 Ferrum Pacific Mining Corporation and Vice Chairman of
AirAsia Philippines
Philippines AirAsia, Inc. is a low-cost airline based at Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Metro Manila in the Philippines. The airline is the Philippine affiliate of AirAsia, a low-cost airline based in Malaysia. The airline started as a jo ...
.
Son of construction magnate Reghis Romero II, Romero worked in venture capital in Singapore before returning home in 2002 to seize country's infrastructure opportunity. He converted family's reclaimed land into Harbour Center Port Terminal, now country's biggest bulk and breakbulk port. He listed his port assets in 2011, with a reverse takeover of listed MIC Holdings, renaming it GlobalPort 900, Inc. He said he wants to build a 'seaport highway' across the Philippines archipelago. He also has 65% stake in Manila North Harbour, country's biggest port, where San Miguel is a partner. Other interests include mining, hotels, a 20% stake in Air Asia Philippines and 15% in Alfred Yao's
Zest Airways.
Sports
He captains country's polo team and owns a baseball team (
Manila Sharks) and a
PBA team (
NorthPort Batang Pier
The NorthPort Batang Pier is a Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) team that first played in the 2012–13 PBA season. The team took over the franchise of the Powerade Tigers in 2012 after it was sold to Sultan 900 Capital, Inc. Besides No ...
).
In polo, he is known for being the founder of the Philippine National Federation of Polo Players.
He is also a polo player, competing for the Philippines at the
2019 Southeast Asian Games. He will compete in the
0-2 goals event.
Sports teams
*
NorthPort Batang Pier
The NorthPort Batang Pier is a Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) team that first played in the 2012–13 PBA season. The team took over the franchise of the Powerade Tigers in 2012 after it was sold to Sultan 900 Capital, Inc. Besides No ...
(
Philippine Basketball Association
The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) is a men's professional basketball league in the Philippines composed of twelve company-branded franchised teams. Founded in 1975, it is the first professional basketball league in Asia and is the se ...
, 2012–present)
*
AirAsia Flying Spikers (
Philippine Super Liga
The Philippine Super Liga (PSL; alternatively spelled as Philippine Superliga) was a non-professional corporate club women's volleyball league in the Philippines. It was first organized by SportsCore Event Management and Consultancy, Inc. an ...
, 2014)
*
Manila Sharks (
Baseball Philippines, 2007-2012)
*
AirAsia Philippine Patriots
The AirAsia Philippine Patriots (originally known as the Philippine Patriots) were a professional basketball team that played in the ASEAN Basketball League. It was the first team from the Philippines to play in the ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) a ...
(
ASEAN Basketball League
The ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) is a professional men's basketball league in Southeast Asia and Hong Kong/Macau, which includes six teams from Southeast Asian nations (Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam), one tea ...
, 2009-2012)
*
Harbour Centre Batang Pier/Oracle Residences Titans (
Philippine Basketball League
The Philippine Basketball League (PBL) was a commercial semi-professional basketball league in the Philippines. The league was composed of several commercial teams with several collegiate and provincial stars.
History
The PBL was formed on Ma ...
, 2004-2010)
Political career
Romero was named as one of the new
deputy speakers of House Speaker
Alan Peter Cayetano
Alan Peter Schramm Cayetano (Tagalog pronunciation: ajɛˈtano born October 28, 1970) is a Filipino politician, lawyer, and diplomat serving as a Senator since 2022 and previously from 2007 to 2017. He was the Senate Minority Leader from 20 ...
on August 13, 2019. During a
House leadership crisis which began in late September 2020, Romero supported
Lord Allan Velasco
Lord Allan Jay Quinto Velasco (born November 9, 1977) is a Filipino politician and lawyer who served as the Speaker of the House of Representatives from October 12, 2020 to June 2022. He is concurrently serving as the Representative of Marin ...
's speakership bid in accordance with the term-sharing agreement between Cayetano and Velasco during the commencement of the
18th Congress. On October 2,
Fredenil Castro (Capiz–2nd) challenged the representatives to resign if they cannot cooperate with Cayetano's leadership. Deputy Majority Leader Xavier Jesus Romualdo moved to have Castro replace Romero as a deputy speaker. The motion was approved without objections, removing Romero from the position.
On October 12, a majority of House members held session at the Celebrity Sports Complex in Quezon City. After they declared the speakership vacant, Romero was one of those who nominated Velasco as speaker. Velasco was declared as the new speaker after garnering 186 votes, more than the 151 needed for a majority. However, Cayetano's side questioned the legality of the session. The next day, Velasco was formally elected in an official session held at the
Batasang Pambansa
The Batasang Pambansa Complex, or simply the Batasan (), is the seat of the House of Representatives of the Philippines. It is located along the Batasan Road in Batasan Hills, Quezon City.
The complex was initially the home of the Batasang ...
while Cayetano resigned. On October 14, Romero was again elected as a deputy speaker, replacing the ousted
Luis Raymund Villafuerte
Luis Raymund "L-Ray" Favis Villafuerte Jr. (born June 3, 1968) is a Filipino politician serving as the Representative of Camarines Sur's 2nd district since 2016. He was a House Deputy Speaker from 2019 until October 14, 2020. He previously ...
(Camarines Sur–2nd), a Cayetano ally.
Personal life
He and his wife Sheila collect rare Philippine and Southeast Asian art.
References
External links
* at
Forbes
''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Romero, Mikee
1971 births
Living people
De La Salle University alumni
Filipino men's basketball players
21st-century Filipino businesspeople
Filipino sportsperson-politicians
Filipino polo players
Basketball players from Manila
Party-list members of the House of Representatives of the Philippines
Asian Institute of Management alumni
Competitors at the 2019 Southeast Asian Games
Southeast Asian Games competitors for the Philippines
De La Salle Green Archers basketball players