No matter what the outcome of the elections, Geraldine Roman, 49, has already made her mark in history as the first transgender woman to run for public office in the Philippines.
Geraldine is not what one would call “a fringe candidate.” “She is being supported by the two dominant political families in Bataan, the Garcias and the Romans, she being a member of the Roman family, no less,” according to columnist Victor C. Agustin. Her parents are outgoing Bataan 1st District Rep. Herminia Roman and the late Assemblyman Antonino Roman Jr. She is running for the same position that her mother will vacate, under the Liberal Party (LP), which is also fielding Mar Roxas for President and Camarines Sur Rep. Leni Robredo for Vice President in the coming May 9 elections.
There is no doubt that Geraldine’s family is very supportive about her being openly transgender in a country that is still predominantly Catholic. Technically, there should be a separation of Church and State, but that’s not exactly the case in the Philippines, where the Church continues to influence the decisions made by political leaders. That’s the reason why, to this day, there is no divorce law in the country. The Church has also opposed the LGBT community’s quest to have same-sex unions legally recognized.
In late 2015, Geraldine’s mother told reporters that she had to give up her plan to seek the vice governorship in Bataan in order to help with her daughter’s campaign,” according to Agustin. When asked why, she said it was “because of the Catholic Church’s unsupportive stance on transgender sexuality.”
She also told Manila Bulletin, “Tama na ’yung 26 years na paglilingkod ko. Si Geraldine naman ang isusulong ko sa paglingkod para tuloy-tuloy ang aming serbisyo sa publiko (My 26 years of service is enough. I’ll just push for Geraldine to continue our family’s public service).”
Geraldine has been living as a woman for the past 22 years. For a time, according to Philippine Daily Inquirer, she lived in Spain where she attended the Universidad del Pais Vasco and graduated with a degree in journalism.
Spain is one of the countries that allow same-sex marriage, and Geraldine was married to a Spanish citizen, whom she had met while she was at the university.
Geraldine says that she is indifferent to cruel quips about her sexuality. Addressing her potential constituents, she said, “I trust that you will accept me for who I am, no matter how others treat me. I will persevere.”
Geraldine is so comfortable in her skin that in one LP campaign sortie (watch video below), she announced that she was transgender then teased the crowd, “Hindi n’yo alam, no? Ang ganda ko, no (You didn’t know, did you? I’m so beautiful, am I not)?”
Geraldine’s confidence is just one of the qualities that has gained her supporters.
“Ben Medina, the president of Bataan’s organized LGBT community, said Geraldine had the support of 15,000 LGBT voters,” according to Inquirer.
In the event that Geraldine wins a seat in Congress, she says she wants to file her own version of the freedom of information bill “to ensure that all documents required for public works projects were accessible to the people.”
She told the Inquirer that she already anticipates a problem. “My problem upon reaching Congress is [trying to figure out] which comfort room (toilet) I am allowed to use,” she said.
Then again, considering how much Geraldine has already gone through and achieved for the LGBT community, that’s one problem that she can easily deal with.
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