Ferdinand Martin Romualdez

Ferdinand Martin Gomez Romualdez ([ɾomˈwɐldɛs], born November 14, 1963) is a Filipino businessman, lawyer, and politician serving as the House Majority Leader since 2019. He is concurrently serving as the Representative for the 1st district of Leyte, a position he previously held from 2007 to 2016. He unsuccessfully ran for senator in the 2016 elections. Romualdez owns newspaper companies Manila Standard and the Journal Group of Publications. He is also the National President of the Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats political party.

Romualdez is also the author of the House Bill No. 1039, which was enacted into law by President Benigno Aquino III as Republic Act No. 10754 or an act on expanding the benefits & privileges of people with disabilities.

Ferdinand Martin Gomez Romualdez was born on November 14, 1963, the third child of Benjamin "Kokoy" Romualdez and Juliette Gomez-Romualdez. The Romualdezes are an influential and affluent family. His father, Benjamin, served as Governor of Leyte and Ambassador to the United States, and was also one of the richest men in the Philippines. His paternal aunt, Imelda Romualdez Marcos, is the former First Lady of the Philippines, and as such, former President Ferdinand Marcos was his uncle, while Bongbong and Imee Marcos are his cousins.

Romualdez attended Cornell University in the United States from 1981 to 1985, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in government. In 1988, he earned a Certificate of Special Studies in Administration and Management from Harvard University. He then enrolled at the University of the Philippines College of Law in 1988, where he became a brother of the Upsilon Sigma Phi fraternity. He earned his Bachelor of Laws degree in 1992.

Also in 1992, Romualdez started to serve as concurrent trustee and president of Doña Remedios Trinidad Romualdez Medical and Dr. Vicente Orestes Romualdez Educational Foundation. In 1995, meanwhile, he started work as director and legal counsel for the CARPA Realty Development Corporation, and as trustee for Remedios Trinidad Romualdez Medical Foundation. He still holds both offices.Before his work in his family's foundations, he spent a considerable time in the banking field. He was Chairman of the Board for Equitable PCI Bank, as well as Director for several companies, among them Philippine Commercial International Bank, Equitable Card Network, EBC Investments, Inc., Equitable Savings Bank, PCI Leasing Corporation, and PCI Capital Corporation.

2016 elections

As early as April 2014, Romualdez has expressed his interest to run as Senator in the 2016 elections. He filed his certificate of candidacy for Senator on October 13, 2015. He will run under the Lakas-CMD party, of which he is the current national president.

In an event commemorating the 2nd anniversary of the Typhoon Haiyan aftermath in Tacloban on November 7, 2015, Romualdez, declared his support for the presidential candidate of the United Nationalist Alliance, Jejomar Binay. Aside from Binay, Davao City Mayor and presidential aspirant Rodrigo Duterte also endorsed the candidacy of Romualdez.

Martin Romualdez is married to Yedda Marie M. Kittilstvedt. She is known as a staunch advocate of women's and children's rights issues. They have four children together: Andrew Julian (2000), Ferdinand Martin, Jr. (2001), Mariabella Gabrielle (2007) and Maddey (2015).