Roman Tecson Romulo (born February 28, 1967) is 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 and lawyer. He served as a member of

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

representing the

Lone District Lone may refer to: People * Lone (given name), a given name (including a list of people with this name) *Lone (musician), Matt Cutler, an electronic musician from Nottingham, United Kingdom *Lone (surname), a surname (including a list of people w ...

Pasig Pasig, officially the City of Pasig ( fil, Lungsod ng Pasig), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 803,159 people. It is located along the ...

for four consecutive terms from 2007 to 2016 and from 2019 to present. He is the son of former Foreign Affairs Secretary

Alberto Romulo Alberto Gatmaitan Romulo (born August 7, 1933) is a Filipino politician and diplomat. He served in the Philippine in various capacities as Executive Secretary, Finance Secretary, Foreign Affairs Secretary, and Budget Secretary. His most recent o ...

and grand-nephew of

President of the United Nations General Assembly The president of the United Nations General Assembly is a position voted by representatives in the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on a yearly basis. The president is the chair and presiding officer of the General Assembly. Election ...

Carlos 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 ...

. Romulo is known for authoring "Iskolar ng Bayan Act of 2014 ( R.A. 10648)", which grants students, belonging to the top 10 bracket of the

graduating Graduation is the awarding of a diploma to a student by an educational institution. It may also refer to the ceremony that is associated with it. The date of the graduation ceremony is often called graduation day. The graduation ceremony is al ...

class Class or The Class may refer to: Common uses not otherwise categorized * Class (biology), a taxonomic rank * Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects * Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used differentl ...

of all

public high schools State schools (in England, Wales, Australia and New Zealand) or public schools (Scottish English and North American English) are generally primary or secondary educational institution, schools that educate all students without charge. They are ...

in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, full

scholarships A scholarship is a form of financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, diversity and inclusion, athletic skill, and financial need. Scholarshi ...

on their admission to any state university or college within the

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

where they graduated.

Early life and education

Romulo was born on February 28, 1967 in

Quezon City Quezon City (, ; fil, Lungsod Quezon ), also known as the City of Quezon and Q.C. (read in Filipino as Kyusi), is the List of cities in the Philippines, most populous city in the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a populatio ...

. He is the third of the five children of diplomat and politician

and Rosie Lovely Tecson. His father, Alberto, was a former

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

, Budget Secretary,

Finance Secretary The Finance Secretary () is the administrative head of the Ministry of Finance. This post is held by senior IAS officer of the rank of Secretary to Government of India. T. V. Somanathan is the incumbent Finance Secretary. As a Secretary to Go ...

Executive Secretary Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derived ...

, and Foreign Affairs Secretary. Romulo attended Ateneo de Manila Grade School for his

primary education Primary education or elementary education is typically the first stage of formal education, coming after preschool/kindergarten and before secondary school. Primary education takes place in ''primary schools'', ''elementary schools'', or first ...

, where he graduated in 1981. He then attended

PAREF Southridge School Parents for Education Foundation (PAREF) is an educational foundation established by parents that administers schools for basic education in the Philippines. It owns several single-sex Catholic school Catholic schools are pre-primary, primar ...

for his

secondary education Secondary education or post-primary education covers two phases on the International Standard Classification of Education scale. Level 2 or lower secondary education (less commonly junior secondary education) is considered the second and final pha ...

, where he graduated in 1985. He took a Bachelor's Degree in economics at the

University of the Philippines Diliman , image = University of The Philippines seal.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = Official Logo of UP Diliman , motto = Honor and Excellence , established = February 12, 194 ...

and graduated in 1990. While studying there, he was a member of

Upsilon Sigma Phi The Upsilon Sigma Phi () is the oldest Greek-letter organization and fraternity in Asia. Founded in 1918, it is also the oldest student organization in continuous existence in the University of the Philippines. It has two chapters — a single ch ...

. He also obtained a

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 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 ...

(also in UP Diliman) in 1994. Romulo was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

on June 29, 1995 with ''Roll No. 40361''. Romulo underwent training course on Legal Aspects of Electronic Commerce at the

International Development Law Institute The International Development Law Organization (IDLO) is an intergovernmental organization dedicated to the promotion of the rule of law. With a joint focus on the promotion of rule of law and development, it works to empower people and communiti ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

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 ...

on September 2000. In 2015, Romulo was conferred the degrees of

Doctor of Public Administration The Doctor of Public Administration (D.P.A.) is a terminal applied-research doctoral degree in the field of public administration (a part of public service). The D.P.A. requires significant coursework beyond the masters level and a dissertation ...

honoris causa An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...

'' by the

Lyceum-Northwestern University Lyceum-Northwestern University (L-NU) is a medical college located in Dagupan City, Philippines founded by Dr. Francisco Quimson Duque and Mrs. Florencia Tiongson Duque in 1969. Lyceum-Northwestern University though bearing the name Lyceum ...

and Doctor of Humanities ''honoris causa'' by the

University of Baguio The University of Baguio (UB; Filipino: ''Pamantasan ng Baguio''), formerly Baguio Technical and Commercial Institute (Baguio Tech), is a private, Filipino, multidisciplinary, autonomous university in Baguio, Philippines. It was founded by Fernan ...

in 2015.

Early career

Romulo worked as an

associate lawyer An associate attorney is a lawyer and an employee of a law firm who does not hold an ownership interest as a Law firm#Partnership, partner. Types Practicing attorney An associate may be a junior or senior attorney, but normally does not hold an o ...

at ''Quisumbing Torres & Evangelista Law Offices'' from 1994 to 1996. He then worked as an associate lawyer at ''Sycip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan Law Offices'' from 1996 to 1999 and as a senior associate lawyer at the same law firm from 1999 to 2007. He was one of the founding partners of ''Tolosa, Romulo, Agabin, Flores & Enriquez Law Offices'' in 2005.

Political career

House of Representatives (2007-2016, 2019-present)

Romulo ran in

lone district Lone may refer to: People * Lone (given name), a given name (including a list of people with this name) *Lone (musician), Matt Cutler, an electronic musician from Nottingham, United Kingdom *Lone (surname), a surname (including a list of people w ...

during the 2004 election. He was endorsed by former

Senate President President of the Senate is a title often given to the presiding officer of a senate. It corresponds to the speaker in some other assemblies. The senate president often ranks high in a jurisdiction's succession for its top executive office: for ex ...

Jovito Salonga Jovito "Jovy" Reyes Salonga, KGCR (; June 22, 1920 – March 10, 2016) was a Filipino politician and lawyer, as well as a leading opposition leader during the regime of Ferdinand Marcos from the declaration of martial law in 1972 until the P ...

and supported by former Pasig mayor Vicente Eusebio but lost to

Robert Jaworski Jr. Robert Vincent Jude "Dodot" Bautista Jaworski Jr. (born October 14, 1971) is a Filipino people, Filipino politician, businessman, and former basketball player who is the vice mayor of Pasig. He previously served as a member of House of Represent ...

, who won by a slim margin. Romulo ran again for the

House A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

seat during 2007 election and won. During his term in the

, Romulo was the chairman of committee on Higher and Technical Education and member of the majority of committees on Basic Education and Culture, Constitutional Amendments, Economic Affairs, Human Rights, Information & Communications Technology, Metro Manila Development, Revisions of Laws, Science and Technology, and Veterans Affairs and Welfare.

Legislative portfolio

As a member of 14th, 15th, and

16th 16 (sixteen) is the natural number following 15 and preceding 17. 16 is a composite number, and a square number, being 42 = 4 × 4. It is the smallest number with exactly five divisors, its proper divisors being , , and . In English speech, ...

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...

, Romulo authored 59 bills and co-authored 34 bills. Romulo is the principal author of the House version of the following laws:

2016 Senate bid

Romulo ran for a seat in the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

during 2016 election under the

Partido Galing at Puso The Partido Galing at Puso coalition ( PGP), was the political multi-party electoral alliance of the political parties and coalition opposition in the Philippines during the 2016 general elections.The coalition was composed of the Aksyon Demokr ...

, a coalition of senators,

Grace Poe Mary Grace Natividad Sonora Poe-Llamanzares (baptized September 3, 1968) is a Filipino politician, businesswoman, educator, and philanthropist serving as a senator since 2013. She was the chairperson of the Movie and Television Review and Class ...

and

Francis Escudero Francis Joseph "Chiz" Guevara Escudero (, born October 10, 1969) is a Filipino lawyer and politician serving as a Senator since 2022, and previously from 2007 to 2019. He recently served as governor of Sorsogon from 2019 to 2022, and was the re ...

, for presidential and vice-presidential election, and their line-up for Senate election. He filed his Certificate of Candidacy (COC) at the

Commission on Elections An election commission is a body charged with overseeing the implementation of electioneering process of any country. The formal names of election commissions vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and may be styled an electoral commission, a c ...

office in

Palacio del Gobernador The Palacio del Gobernador () is a government building located in Intramuros, Manila, Philippines. It is located southwest from Plaza de Roma and built in its current form in 1976. At present, the building houses the Intramuros Administration, ...

Intramuros Intramuros (Latin for "inside the walls") is the historic walled area within the city of Manila, the capital of the Philippines. It is administered by the Intramuros Administration with the help of the city government of Manila. Present-day I ...

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 ...

on October 14, 2015. He said he aims to create a “strong middle class” by promoting

higher education Higher education is tertiary education leading to award of an academic degree. Higher education, also called post-secondary education, third-level or tertiary education, is an optional final stage of formal learning that occurs after completi ...

and lowering income tax rates. He was also endorsed by Davao City Mayor

Rodrigo Duterte Rodrigo Roa Duterte (, ; born March 28, 1945), also known as Digong, Rody, and by the initials DU30 and PRRD, is a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the 16th president of the Philippines from 2016 to 2022. He is the chairperson ...

, who won the presidential election. Romulo, however, didn't win the race and was ranked 22nd on the tally. His sister, Mons, who ran in Pasig's at-large congressional district and lost to Richard Eusebio, said in her

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

post that their family will remain a helping hand in Pasig and the country despite losing the elections.

Personal life

Romulo married politician and television host

Shalani Soledad Shalani Carla San Ramón Soledad-Romulo (born April 27, 1980) is a Filipina politician and TV personality. Soledad was a member of Valenzuela City council from Valenzuela's 2nd congressional district from 2004 to 2013. From November 12–18, 2 ...

at 17:00 PST on January 22, 2012, at St. Benedict Church in

Ayala Westgrove Heights Ayala Westgrove Heights is a residential development by Ayala Land located in Silang, Cavite, Philippines. Located adjacent to Santa Rosa, Laguna, it is approximately from the Santa Rosa–Tagaytay Road. The gross land area is approximately , with ...

, Silang,

Cavite Cavite, officially the Province of Cavite ( tl, Lalawigan ng Kabite; Chavacano: ''Provincia de Cavite''), is a province in the Philippines located in the Calabarzon region in Luzon. Located on the southern shores of Manila Bay and southwest ...

. Romulo was a member judge on Metrobank Foundation's Search for Outstanding Teachers (SOT) in 2014. In 2015, ''PeopleAsia's Magazine'' named him as one of the ''Men Who Matter'' awardees.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Romulo, Roman 1967 births People from Pasig Members of the House of Representatives of the Philippines from Pasig University of the Philippines Diliman alumni Living people