Geraldine Roman

Geraldine Batista Roman (born April 23, 1967) is a Filipino journalist and politician serving as the Representative of Bataan's 1st district since 2016.

She is the first transgender person elected to the Congress of the Philippines.

She worked in Spain as a senior editor for the Spanish News Agency before returning to the Philippines in 2012 to take care of her father, who was seriously ill by that time.

She was named as one of the 100 Leading Global Thinkers of 2016 by US-based Foreign Policy magazine; one of "13 Inspiring Women of 2016" list by Time magazine.

Geraldine Roman was born as a male, she is second of four children born into the family of politicians Herminia Roman and Antonino Roman, Jr. She was teased by her classmates but her father taught her to be confident.

Roman attended the basic education unit of Ateneo de Manila University for her elementary and high school studies.

For her collegiate studies, she attended the University of the Philippines Diliman.

She managed to secure a scholarship to pursue journalism at the University of the Basque Country in Spain and attained two master's degrees.

During the 2016 Philippine elections, Roman ran under the Liberal Party banner for the position of 1st District Representative for Bataan in the House of Representatives.

She competed against Hermosa mayor Danilo Malana of Aksyon Demokratiko and won with more than 62% of the total votes and became the first ever transgender congresswoman in the Congress of the Philippines.

Roman succeeded the incumbent, her mother Hermina Roman, who had a limited term.

She, along with other elected lawmakers (collectively known as "equality champs"), launched the passage of the anti-discrimination bill on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity (now known as the SOGIE Equality Bill) through a speech in the House of Representatives that garnered international support for LGBT rights in the Philippines.

She also filed bills regarding eco-tourism, livelihood enhancements, agriculture advancements, health, and education, which were the advocacies of her family, and were focused on the first district of Bataan.

She was named as one of the "13 Inspiring Women of 2016" by Time magazine in October 2016.

She left the Liberal Party in May 2017 and transferred to PDP–Laban, the current ruling political party of the Philippines, to hasten the House passage of the bills that she supported.

In September 2017, the SOGIE Equality Bill passed unanimously in the House of Representatives, after 17 years of political limbo, with no lawmakers voting against it.

Status: Republic Act RA10929 enacted on 2017-08-02

AN ACT DECLARING APRIL 21 OF EVERY YEAR A SPECIAL NONWORKING HOLIDAY IN THE MUNICIPALITY OF ORANI, PROVINCE OF BATAAN, IN COMMEMORATION OF ITS FOUNDING ANNIVERSARY, TO BE KNOWN AS "ORANI FOUNDATION DAY"

Roman voted to approve a bill to reinstate the death penalty in the Philippines during its final reading on March 29, 2017, which met criticism online.

In January 2018, Roman, along with the House Speaker, filed House Bill 6595 (the Civil Partnership Bill), which seeks to legalize civil unions, regardless of gender.

In February, Roman became the first transgender official of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

In August 2018, she filed the Regional Investment and Infrastructure Council Act, which sought to create special economic zones in Luzon.

In September, Roman became the first committee chair of the newly created House Committee on Disaster Management.

In October, she again pushed for the same-sex civil union bill, adding that the "sky will not fall" if the bill is passed.

During the same month, she filed her certificate of candidacy for reelection in her district.

In November 2018, during the first meeting of the House Committee on Disaster Management which she chairs, Roman prioritized the rehabilitation of the war-torn Islamic City of Marawi.

Status: Republic Act RA11145 enacted on 2018-11-09

AN ACT DECLARING JANUARY 11 OF EVERY YEAR A SPECIAL NONWORKING HOLIDAY IN THE PROVINCE OF BATAAN IN COMMEMORATION OF ITS FOUNDING ANNIVERSARY, TO BE KNOWN AS " BATAAN FOUNDATION DAY "

Status: Republic Act RA11138 enacted on 2018-11-09

AN ACT INCREASING THE MONTHLY PENSION OF SENIOR VETERANS THEREBY AMENDING RA 6948, AS AMENDED

Status: Republic Act RA11164 enacted on 2018-12-20

AN ACT INSTITUTIONALIZING A NATIONAL INTEGRATED CANCER CONTROL PROGRAM AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR

In the 2019 Philippine elections, Roman ran under the PDP–Laban banner for the position of 1st District Representative for Bataan in the House of Representatives.

She competed against Emelita Justo Lubag of Katipunan ng Demokratikong Pilipino and won with 91% of the total votes.

AN ACT MANDATING THE PROVISION OF FREE WI-FI INTERNET ACCESS IN PUBLIC AREAS

Status: Republic Act RA11215 enacted on 2019-02-14

AN ACT DEFINING GENDER-BASED SEXUAL HARASSMENT IN STREETS, PUBLIC SPACES, ONLINE, WORKPLACES, AND EDUCATIONAL OR TRAINING INSTITUTIONS, PROVIDING PROTECTIVE MEASURES AND PRESCRIBING PENALTIES THEREFOR

Status: Republic Act RA11313 enacted on 2019-04-17

Roman expressed her support for a federal form of government in the Philippines, but stated that she will introduce a clause that aims to guarantee the country's territorial integrity as she perceives that a federal system without such clause will lead to separatism due to the country's various ethnic groups, geographies, and regionalism.

She cited the Spanish federal system as a possible reference for the Philippines' federal prospects.