Benjamin Romualdez
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Carlos Benjamin Orestes "Kokoy" Trinidad Romualdez (September 24, 1930 – February 21, 2012) was a Filipino politician who served as Governor of Leyte and later appointed as ambassador to the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
,
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
and
Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...
. He was a younger brother to former first lady Imelda Romualdez Marcos and the father of House Speaker
Martin Romualdez Ferdinand Martin Gomez Romualdez (, born November 14, 1963) is a Filipino businessman, lawyer, and politician who has served as the 24th Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Philippines, speaker of the House of Representatives since 2 ...
.


Personal life

The son of the late Vicente Orestes Romuáldez, a former dean of the law school of St. Paul's College in
Tacloban Tacloban ( ; ), officially the City of Tacloban (; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city on Leyte island in the Eastern Visayas region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, Tacloban has a popu ...
, Kokoy Romualdez began his career in politics after serving as an assistant of Speaker
Daniel Romualdez Daniel Zialcita Romualdez (September 11, 1907 – March 22, 1965) was a Filipino politician who served as Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Philippines from 1957 to 1962. He was first cousin to former First Lady Imelda Marcos. ...
, his first cousin, from 1957 to 1961. He was a younger brother to former First Lady
Imelda Marcos Imelda Romualdez Marcos (; born Imelda Remedios Visitación Trinidad Romuáldez; July 2, 1929) is a Filipino politician who was First Lady of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986, wielding significant political power after her husband Ferdinand ...
and the father of House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez. He was married to Juliette Gomez and their children are: Daniel, a practicing architect in New York, and partner Michael; Benjamin Philip, president and chief executive officer of Benguet Corp., who is married to Inquirer president and CEO Maria Alexandra; Ferdinand Martin, who is married to Yedda Marie; Marean, an investment banker, and husband Thomas; sisters
Imelda Marcos Imelda Romualdez Marcos (; born Imelda Remedios Visitación Trinidad Romuáldez; July 2, 1929) is a Filipino politician who was First Lady of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986, wielding significant political power after her husband Ferdinand ...
, Alita Martel, Conchita Yap and brothers Alfredo and Armando. He was part of the Romualdez Clan, the strongest political clan of Eastern Visayas. According to his niece
Imee Marcos Maria Imelda Josefa Remedios "Imee" Romualdez Marcos-Manotoc (; born November 12, 1955) is a Filipino politician and film producer serving as a Senate of the Philippines, senator since 2019. She previously served as governor of Ilocos Norte ...
, their ancestors came from
Northern Samar Northern Samar (; ), officially the Province of Northern Samar, is a province in the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas region. Its capital is Catarman, the most populous town in the province and is located at the northern portion of ...
, settled in Leyte, and prospered in Tacloban. One of their ancestors was a part of the Sumuroy Revolt which started in Northern Samar.


Political life

Romualdez embarked on his own career in the diplomatic service and in politics spanning more than 20 years. He served several terms as Leyte governor from 1967 to 1986. During this time, his brother-in-law, President
Ferdinand Marcos Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. (September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was a Filipino lawyer, politician, dictator, and Kleptocracy, kleptocrat who served as the tenth president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He ruled the c ...
also appointed him as ambassador to China, Saudi Arabia and the United States. Romualdez was instrumental in the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Philippines and the People's Republic of China in the 1970s, becoming Manila's first ambassador to Beijing. He also led the Marcos government's negotiations with the United States regarding the renegotiation of the two countries' bases agreement. He was elected as a member of 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 Pa ...
in 1984, but chose to remain ambassador to the United States, and was therefore disqualified to sit in the parliament. In 1986, he went into exile with his family following the
People Power Revolution The People Power Revolution, also known as the EDSA Revolution or the February Revolution, were a series of popular Demonstration (people), demonstrations in the Philippines, mostly in Metro Manila, from February 22 to 25, 1986. There was a ...
, and returned fourteen years later in 2000.


Death

He died on the afternoon of February 21, 2012, of
cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...
, at Makati Medical Center in
Makati Makati ( ; ), officially the City of Makati (), is a highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines, known for being one of the leading financial centers in the country. As of 2013, the city has the highest concent ...
at the age of 81. His remains were brought to Tacloban for a funeral and buried at the Heritage Park in
Taguig Taguig (), officially the City of Taguig (), is the List of cities in the Philippines, fifth-most populous city in the Philippines situated on the eastern shores of Metro Manila, the national capital region. It is a center for culture, finance ...
on February 27.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Romualdez, Benjamin 1930 births 2012 deaths Ambassadors of the Philippines to China Ambassadors of the Philippines to Saudi Arabia Ambassadors of the Philippines to the United States Governors of Leyte (province) Kilusang Bagong Lipunan politicians Nacionalista Party politicians
Benjamin Benjamin ( ''Bīnyāmīn''; "Son of (the) right") blue letter bible: https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h3225/kjv/wlc/0-1/ H3225 - yāmîn - Strong's Hebrew Lexicon (kjv) was the younger of the two sons of Jacob and Rachel, and Jacob's twe ...
Members of the Batasang Pambansa Burials at The Heritage Park