Remedios T. Romualdez
Encyclopedia
Remedios T. Romualdez, also known as Remedios Trinidad, was the mother of former First Lady Imelda Marcos
, the wife of Former President
of the Philippines Ferdinand Marcos
. It is not true that she was a maid or that she sired her daughter Imelda illegitimately. Though a simple lady, her sad story was the impetus that brought much determination in the hearts of her six children, who would later lead lives far bigger than those of their Romualdez relatives.
on April 5, 1902. She had a brother named Ricardo or "Carding" and a younger sister, Regina. Her mother was a fruit, fish and jewelry merchant from Capiz
, Marciana de Guzman. Her father has never been identified by family historians, neither confirming whether she was a friar's daughter herself or if she was borne out of wedlock. All that is known of her father was that he was from the old town of Baliuag, Bulacan
.
Miss Trinidad had a dusky Filipina complexion, jet black hair, an oval face which is similar to her daughter's, Imelda Marcos
.
As it was improper for a bachelor to care for any female alone, Meding, as she was fondly called, entered the Asilo de San Vicente de Paul--- otherwise known as the Looban Convent--- which was a home for girls and abandoned babies. These included young women whose father's fortunes have dwindled, who were daughters of Spanish priests, who were sidestepped by stepmothers after their father's passing, "hijas naturales" and other circumstances that were not truly "proper" to speak of in pre-war Manila.
Carding lived nearby in a rented apartment, and visited his sister on certain weeks when time off work allowed it.
Administered by the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul who own today's Santa Isabel College, Manila
and the Hospicio de San Jose
in the Isla de Convalescencia of the Pasig River
, San Miguel, Manila
, the Looban Convent in Paco, Manila
also served as a training facility for the skills of the home.
Enjoying the good patronage of Manila's elite, the Looban Convent also functioned as a place where Manila's affluent families could drop by to purchase the boarders' excellent handmade doilies and lace embroideries, homemade embutido
, longanisa, tocino
, camarrones, and at times, select wives for their sons. The Tuasons, Zobel
s, Roxases, Mendozas, Reyeses, Laperals, Ortolls, Escaños, Chiong Velosos, Velascos, Galas were but a few of these families who frequented the nuns and their Asilo.
Such was the respectable and impeccably rigid place that the boarder, Remedios, lived in.
In 1928, Remedios received formal visits from a Tinio son, heir to the Tinio haciendas of Nueva Ecija
. When the suitor's parents found out, they harried away their boy to the United States
purportedly to study engineering
. The Tinio couple found it below their stature to have a well-bred yet penniless convent girl for a daughter-in-law.
), matriarch of the Romualdez clan of Leyte
(previously of Pandacan) knocked on the doors of her favorite charity, the Looban Convent, together with daughter-in-law Beatriz Buz Romualdez (daughter of Fray Salustiano Buz) and cousin Mariquita Lopez.
Doña Tidad sought to find a wife for her youngest son, the newly widowed Vicente Orestes Romualdez.
Behind closed doors, the Mother Superior asked two girls, Meding and Josephine (a mestiza with Moorish features) to enter the room and serve water and napkins to the Romualdez guests.
When Doña Tidad and her party left, the Mother Superior advised Meding and Josephine that they are to deliver a letter to Doña Tidad and to her older son, Chief Justice Don Norberto Romualdez
at the Romualdez home on Arquiza Street, Ermita
a few days from that encounter. They are to wear their Sunday's best clothes. Unbeknownst to the two women, they would be judged on that day by the rest of the Romualdezes during their Sunday asalto.
Josephine wore American clothes while Meding wore her saya
and pañuelo.
They took with them the sealed envelope which had nothing more than a blank piece of paper.
When they arrived, the family invited both inside graciously. Song and the musical arts being actively pursued by the entire clan, the Romualdezes clamored the two to perform immediately after a piano and harp number by one of the younger members.
Josephine flatly declined adding that she neither plays nor can she sing. The Romualdezes were shocked in disbelief.
Remedios, the less beautiful of the two, hesitated at first. After a little more prodding, and with Loreto Buz Romualdez (later Mrs. Loreto Romualdez Ramos) on the musical instruments did she sang Ako'y Ibong Sawi (loosely translated to My Love Failed Me). Some were reduced to tears with the emotion Meding brought forth. A big round of applause thundered that day. Meding won a contest she did not plan on entering.
Meding and Josephine went home with a sealed envelope from Don Norberto Romualdez
. Unknown to them, it still had another blank piece of paper inside it.
After a few more months, the Romualdezes accelerated their move on Remedios Trinidad. At that same time, the Tinio son no longer visited. The nuns convinced Remedios of the benefits of marrying a man she did not love. They said the heart could be taught to love. And she would do a great service to God by helping this widower's household full of five teenager children (Lourdes, Francisco, Victoria, Dulce, Vicente Jr). Señor Orestes was wealthy, a lawyer riding on the fame of his generous brother Norberto or "Nonoy". His other brother Miguel Romualdez may someday be Mayor of Manila
(he eventually did while World War II was raging). The Romualdezes were educated. And most importantly, the nuns said, the Romualdezes were catolicos cerrados.
Meding capitulated. She agreed to marry the third and youngest son of Doña Tidad.
The High Mass was scheduled at 7:00AM at the San Miguel Pro Cathedral (the church still stands today) on General Solano street, San Miguel District, Manila. However, she was awakened at 3:00AM and was asked to get ready for the wedding hours in advance. The marriage ceremony lasted for a little more than 20 minutes behind closed church doors even when it was still dark outside. Later, she would find out that another woman by the name of "Trining" (or Trinidad) had been a "confidante of leisure" of her widower husband. The Romualdez matriarch moved the marriage so this other Trinidad would not come forth, stop the marriage, and embarrass the family.
(she died before the house was finished and was interred in San Miguel Pro-Cathedral). Calle General Solano was a bustling street in San Miguel District a few yards away from Malacañang Palace
(home of the Philippine presidents and Philippine Governors-General) and the San Miguel Pro Cathedral. This street was once lined with Delonix Regia or Royal Poinciana
trees. In this gentrified neighborhood lived a number of important families such as the heirs of Trinidad Zobel, Angela Olgado Zobel (mother of Enrique Zobel
), Reyeses and Bustamantes, et al. Part of the Malacañang Palace
gardens used to be owned by Daniel Romualdez
Sr. of Pandacan, her eventual father-in-law. (This land was sold in the 1900s to pay for the schooling of Miguel Romualdez, Vicente Orestes Romualdez, and Norberto Romualdez
at the Ateneo de Manila which was located in Intramuros
before the war).
Her marriage was marked with heartaches from her stephchildren, a passive husband, numerous pregnancies, and much sacrifice to keep her husband's name in high repute.
Lourdes, the strong-willed daughter of Vicente Orestes, headed the children in rebelling against Meding. They treated her coldly. Arguments echoed from the Romualdez house especially when Lourdes insisted that the life size paintings of her mother's image not be moved in any way. Francisco and Vicente Jr followed suit. Meding spoke to her husband privately but he always sided with Lourdes.
With her husband being so strict with his brood of girls, Victoria (later a lawyer) suffered a nervous breakdown and Dulce (later Sister Bellarmine Romualdez, head of the Holy Ghost College, now known as the School of the Holy Spirit
) was intimately shy. Meding, ever kind and mindful of her stepchildren's well being, brought them to Malolos and Baliuag to see the fiestas and meet young men and women their age.
She sought help from Beatriz, Norberto's second wife (Norberto's deceased first wife was Beatriz's cousin). Beatriz advised Meding to talk it over with Orestes. The latter was a boheme and cared little for the tempers flaring in his house. During nights to the zarzuela
s and movies, he brought his daughters along and left Meding in the house. She scrubbed the floors, cleaned the aparadores, counted the sheets, mended the clothes, and kept the entire house in good order similar to how she was trained at the Asilo. Instead of saying thank you, Lourdes and the rest regarded her hardwork as nothing more than being working class. They refused to be seen with Imelda and Benjamin even when all of them went to the same school so now the maid had to walk Remedios's children separately.
She went back to the nuns of the Looban Convent but there is not much that they could do. They said it was part of the sacrifices of marriage. Whatever Meding would do, they warned, she must keep the good Romualdez name intact.
Remedios's only causes for joy were the coming of her children: Imelda, Benjamin, Alita, Alfredo, Armando and Concepcion "Conchita." She made sure that she held happy thoughts, cooked her excellent galantina and embutido
and frequented the churches and relatives around the city (to avoid confrontations with Lourdes). On practically all of these trips she brought her eldest Imelda, the most beautiful and gregarious of her offspring. (She would heat iron and curl her tressles and doll her up). Her love for her children kept her alive. She made sure she exuded a positive aura so that her children would not embibe the pains in her heart, so that they would come out healthy and strong.
Her old friend from the Asilo, Josephine, visited her once and was terribly surprised by what she saw. Society has come to know the Norberto Romualdezes and Miguel Romualdezes to be very wealthy and distinguished families. It was such an opposite that the youngest branch would have Meding cleaning house without enough househelp around her.
Her suitor, the Tinio son, came to know of her fate and stopped by General Solano. It was a doubly awkward moment as Vicente Orestes opened the door and Remedios was busy caring for her young children.
The Tinio son, now a graduate of Engineering, had come back--- still single. He was ready to marry Remedios against his family's wishes. That could not happen though, as now Remedios is married. The visit was civil, heartwarming, and very long. Vicente Orestes kept a wary eye from afar.
Her nearest friends during that time were their erstwhile male househelp Marcelo Cumpas and a young Leyte
maid, Estrella Cinco, who have remained with her, without any compensation, as the finances of the Vicente Orestes Romualdezes crumbled to pieces (Estrella Cinco was one of the daughters of the encargados managing the Romualdez plantations in Leyte. A very young but impoverished girl, she was adopted by Meding whose original intent was to bring her to Manila and enroll her to one of Manila's schools while at the same time helping around in the Romualdez home. Because of the crises that fell around them, Estrella stopped school and became nanny to Meding's six toddlers. She eventually married Marcelo Cumpas, had children and returned to Tanauan, Leyte
.)
This incident barely affected the Norberto Romualdez
es who at this time were enjoying affluence in their homes in Mandaluyong, Ermita
and Pasay.
This also did not affect much the fortunes of Miguel, who have since assembled choice Manila properties for rental and commercial deals.
However, for the easygoing Vicente, this was a death sentence. As administrator to Norberto's Romualdez Law Offices, many clients disassociated themselves from the firm. Vicente Orestes Romualdez's nest egg was slowly denuded to nothing.
One by one the maids started to disappear. Later, Vicente Orestes' prized Berlina limousine was repossessed by Estrella del Norte where he previously purchased it and which was the same car that carried Remedios to the then high class San Juan de Dios hospital to give birth to Imelda. The gates to the two story home began to rust and the hardwood floors no longer shimmered.
Remedios, barraged with ill feelings from Lourdes, tried her best to keep her household together. Since it would be improper to sell her wares while using the Romualdez name, she resorted to the Asilo nuns who readily spread the word that Meding's famous galantinas, embutidos and tocinos were available once more. Many among the wealthy came eager to buy--- only through the Asilo. With the help of a niece-in-law, Cecilia Planas Romualdez (wife of Miguel Jr), she also started selling embroidered baby's clothes covertly under the name of "R. Trinidad" so as to confuse the emporium owners that they were dealing with Ricardo, her brother. The baby's clothes were bestsellers among the window shops of the Escolta in Santa Cruz
district.
She repeatedly made the voyage to Tacloban to put things in order. At that time, some encargados were pocketing money from the abaca
and coconut plantation on Gran Capitan left by Doña Tidad to her son Señor Orestes (these properties were actually purchased by Norberto for his own children. Instead, he named it to his mother Doña Tidad out of pure love and to lend credence that the Romualdezes were "landed". Doña Tidad, knowing that Miguel and Nonoy were far more astute and will lead affluent lives, deeded the choicest properties to her youngest Señor Orestes, whom she knew would be the weakest, though most handsome, among her her three children). Meding used part of the money she earned selling meats and embroideries to this matter.
Remedios, true to her merchant background, toiled very hard to save the Vicente Orestes Romualdez branch from outright indignation from Manila's elite.
With the help of Ricardo Trinidad who at that time married a "wet market" vendor in Muñoz
market, a repentant Vicente Orestes knocked on her door and asked for her return. He urgently needed help. Doña Tidad died in 1933. His older brother Nonoy was touring Bacolod
and Miguel was busy with his enterprises. Both were preoccupied with their growing families. What little help they could offer could not compare if Meding would return and put the house in order again.
When Remedios returned to the house on General Solano street, the house was on lis pendens
. She had to pay huge mortgage payments for the house to be back in the good graces of the bank creditor. The house was a big mess--- similar to the day when she first entered it that morning of her wedding. She tried her best to clean, mend the curtains, ordered bolts of fabric so she can sew and make the sheets, scrubbed the floors, sort the chipped china, everything. She paid for the electricity and the water. The roof was leaking so she asked Marcelo to buy rubber cement to cover th holes. When that did not work she went to the hardware and ordered galvanized sheets or "yero" / "hierro", a novelty at that time and therefore a tad more expensive. Her stepchildren were silent but could no longer interfere. The threat of Poverty stripped their Pride away.
Meding chose to live in the now empty garage to avoid further fights with her husband's children. On the heavy and large old table at the center of the garage was where her youngest, nicknamed "Conchita", conceived. This garage was also from where the young Imelda or "Meldy" would come out to ascend the staircase to the front door and ask for her allowance from her dear papa.
In her last two years Meding was always "afar", always caught looking else where. She was living day by day only for her children. She no longer cared for anything else, even the Romualdez name so held highly by those around her.
In her last act of defiance, Meding summoned a taxicab as soon as she felt labor pains, without anyone knowing. Days later, her husband's daughters by Juanita found her in the charity ward of the Philippine General Hospital
. Vicente Orestes was enraged. His youngest daughter's birth certificate would read "charity ward" in it forever and he felt he was slighted. (The said birth certificate was then changed in the later years during the Marcos
presidency.)
The diagnosis was that she had severe pneumonia. Many attested that it was not so. Rather, she died with a broken heart.
She left the aparador that she brought with her in her every sojourn, some personal effects and a few pieces of good quality heirloom jewelry for Imelda. No one knows what came about of these stones.
On her burial day, none of her own children were present to see their mother off. They were told to stay in the house. She was interred in the Paco Park
cemetery, very near the Asilo from where she came. Lourdes, together with her sisters and brothers, was remorseful. She would later bring up Remedios's six young children as if they were her own.
On her death the Vicente Orestes Romualdez branch's fortunes fizzled out to nothing. The house was nearly foreclosed had it not been purchased for a measly sum by friends of the family, Mr. and Mrs. Antonio Ricafort.
Vicente Orestes and his eleven children from both marriages left Manila for the tranquil shores and less complicated life of Leyte.
Up until their teenage years, Imelda, Benjamin, Alita, Alfredo, Armando and Conchita thought that the lady in the photographs (Juanita Acereda) their step siblings showed to them were their mother as well. Only in their mature years did they know more about their true mother, Remedios Trinidad.
During World War II, Paco Park
's age old Roman style cemetery was used as foxholes by the Japanese. Remedios Trinidad's bones were disinterred after her husband Señor Orestes's paid encargado was shot to death prior to saving her remains from the chaos. This explains why, in 1965, her daughter the newly installed First Lady laid wreaths to her cousin Speaker Daniel Romualdez
y Zialcita's (a son of Miguel Romualdez) but none for her (even after Loreto Romualdez Ramos insisted so every time she met her cousin Imelda); no one could tell where the bones of Remedios went.
, former Philippine President. Former congresswoman of Leyte. Former governor of Manila
. Her children include Maria Imelda Josefa Marcos or Imee Marcos
, congresswoman of Ilocos Norte
; Ferdinand Jr or Bongbong Marcos, governor of Ilocos Norte; Irene Marcos, married to Gregorio Benitez Araneta; and Aimee Marcos.
Benjamin Trinidad Romualdez, married to Julita Gomez, of the prosperous Gomezes of Leyte. His children are Architect Daniel Romualdez
of New York
and the Hamptons
; Benjamin Phillip Romualdez of the Benguet Mining Corporation; congressman Ferdinand Martin Romualdez who owns shares in Banco de Oro and San Miguel Pure Foods; and Maria Remedios "Marean" Pompidou
of Paris
and Boston
, wife of one of one of the grandsons of Georges Pompidou
.
Alita Trinidad Romualdez, married to Rodolfo Martel.
Alfredo Trinidad Romualdez, married to Agnes Sison. Former Tacloban city mayor. His son, Alfredo Jr, was a former congressman of Leyte
.
Armando Trinidad Romualdez, married to Vilma Romualdez.
Concepcion Trinidad Romualdez, also known as Conchita, married to Edon Yap. Mr. Yap who was a close security aide of Imelda Marcos. Their daughter, Michelle is married to the mayor Tobey Tiangco of Navotas.
Francisco Acereda Romualdez, married to Milagros Lebumfacil. Their daughter is Miss Philippines Margarita Lebumfacil Romualdez.
Victoria Acereda Romualdez. She remained single all her life. She was also a lawyer.
Dulce Acereda Romualdez, and later known as Bellarmine, single. A Catholic nun, specifically the former Mother Superior of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit's Philippine province.
Vicente Acereda Romualdez Jr., married first to Juanita Paguia then second to Rosita Veloso.
Imelda Marcos
Imelda R. Marcos is a Filipino politician and widow of 10th Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos. Upon the ascension of her husband to political power, she held various positions to the government until 1986...
, the wife of Former President
President of the Philippines
The President of the Philippines is the head of state and head of government of the Philippines. The president leads the executive branch of the Philippine government and is the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines...
of the Philippines Ferdinand Marcos
Ferdinand Marcos
Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos, Sr. was a Filipino leader and an authoritarian President of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He was a lawyer, member of the Philippine House of Representatives and a member of the Philippine Senate...
. It is not true that she was a maid or that she sired her daughter Imelda illegitimately. Though a simple lady, her sad story was the impetus that brought much determination in the hearts of her six children, who would later lead lives far bigger than those of their Romualdez relatives.
Early life
Remedios Trinidad y de Guzman or "Meding" was born in Baliuag, BulacanBaliuag, Bulacan
Baliuag or Baliwag is a 1st Class Urban municipality in the province of Bulacan, Philippines. According to the latest census, it has a population of 136,982 inhabitants in 25,050 households....
on April 5, 1902. She had a brother named Ricardo or "Carding" and a younger sister, Regina. Her mother was a fruit, fish and jewelry merchant from Capiz
Capiz
Capiz is a province of the Philippines located in the Western Visayas region. Its capital is Roxas City and is located at the northeastern portion of Panay Island, bordering Aklan and Antique to the west, and Iloilo to the south. Capiz faces the Sibuyan Sea to the north...
, Marciana de Guzman. Her father has never been identified by family historians, neither confirming whether she was a friar's daughter herself or if she was borne out of wedlock. All that is known of her father was that he was from the old town of Baliuag, Bulacan
Baliuag, Bulacan
Baliuag or Baliwag is a 1st Class Urban municipality in the province of Bulacan, Philippines. According to the latest census, it has a population of 136,982 inhabitants in 25,050 households....
.
Miss Trinidad had a dusky Filipina complexion, jet black hair, an oval face which is similar to her daughter's, Imelda Marcos
Imelda Marcos
Imelda R. Marcos is a Filipino politician and widow of 10th Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos. Upon the ascension of her husband to political power, she held various positions to the government until 1986...
.
As it was improper for a bachelor to care for any female alone, Meding, as she was fondly called, entered the Asilo de San Vicente de Paul--- otherwise known as the Looban Convent--- which was a home for girls and abandoned babies. These included young women whose father's fortunes have dwindled, who were daughters of Spanish priests, who were sidestepped by stepmothers after their father's passing, "hijas naturales" and other circumstances that were not truly "proper" to speak of in pre-war Manila.
Carding lived nearby in a rented apartment, and visited his sister on certain weeks when time off work allowed it.
Administered by the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul who own today's Santa Isabel College, Manila
Santa Isabel College, Manila
Santa Isabel College is a former all girls Catholic school and university in Ermita in the city of Manila, Philippines , offering courses at the primary, secondary, and post-secondary levels...
and the Hospicio de San Jose
Hospicio de San Jose
The Hospicio de San Jose is a Catholic welfare institution in the Philippines. It is the first social welfare agency in the Philippines and has been a home to orphans, abandoned and special children, and elderly....
in the Isla de Convalescencia of the Pasig River
Pasig River
The Pasig River is a river in the Philippines that connects Laguna de Bay to Manila Bay. Stretching for , it is lined by Metro Manila on each side...
, San Miguel, Manila
San Miguel, Manila
San Miguel district is a primarily middle-class residential area of Manila. Malacañang Palace, the official residence of the President of Republic of the Philippines, is located in San Miguel district. Just outside Malacañang Palace's gates lies Mendiola Street, the avenue where most mass protest...
, the Looban Convent in Paco, Manila
Paco, Manila
Paco, is a district of Manila, Philippines. It is located south of Pasig River, and San Miguel, west of Santa Ana, southwest of Pandacan, north of Malate, northwest of San Andres, and east of Ermita. According to the 2000 census, it has a population of 64,184 people in 13,438 households...
also served as a training facility for the skills of the home.
Enjoying the good patronage of Manila's elite, the Looban Convent also functioned as a place where Manila's affluent families could drop by to purchase the boarders' excellent handmade doilies and lace embroideries, homemade embutido
Embutido
An embutido , enchido or embotits is a generic term for sausages found in Spain, Portugal, the Philippines, and Central and South America....
, longanisa, tocino
Tocino
In Caribbean countries such as Puerto Rico and Cuba, tocino is made from pork fatback and neither cured nor smoked, but just fried until very crunchy and added to recipes, much like lardons in French cuisine.-Preparation in the Philippines:...
, camarrones, and at times, select wives for their sons. The Tuasons, Zobel
Zobel
The original German term Zobel or its Spanish and Filipino renditions Zóbel is a surname, and may refer to:People* Enrique Zobel* Fernando Zobel* Fernando Zobel de Ayala* Hiller B...
s, Roxases, Mendozas, Reyeses, Laperals, Ortolls, Escaños, Chiong Velosos, Velascos, Galas were but a few of these families who frequented the nuns and their Asilo.
Such was the respectable and impeccably rigid place that the boarder, Remedios, lived in.
In 1928, Remedios received formal visits from a Tinio son, heir to the Tinio haciendas of Nueva Ecija
Nueva Ecija
Nueva Ecija is a landlocked province of the Philippines located in the Central Luzon region. Its capital is Palayan City...
. When the suitor's parents found out, they harried away their boy to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
purportedly to study engineering
Engineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...
. The Tinio couple found it below their stature to have a well-bred yet penniless convent girl for a daughter-in-law.
Courtship
Also in 1928, Doña Trinidad Romualdez y Lopez or "Tidad" (herself a daughter of a Spanish friar from GranadaGranada
Granada is a city and the capital of the province of Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence of three rivers, the Beiro, the Darro and the Genil. It sits at an elevation of 738 metres above sea...
), matriarch of the Romualdez clan of Leyte
Leyte
Leyte is a province of the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas region. Its capital is Tacloban City and occupies the northern three-quarters of the Leyte Island. Leyte is located west of Samar Island, north of Southern Leyte and south of Biliran...
(previously of Pandacan) knocked on the doors of her favorite charity, the Looban Convent, together with daughter-in-law Beatriz Buz Romualdez (daughter of Fray Salustiano Buz) and cousin Mariquita Lopez.
Doña Tidad sought to find a wife for her youngest son, the newly widowed Vicente Orestes Romualdez.
Behind closed doors, the Mother Superior asked two girls, Meding and Josephine (a mestiza with Moorish features) to enter the room and serve water and napkins to the Romualdez guests.
When Doña Tidad and her party left, the Mother Superior advised Meding and Josephine that they are to deliver a letter to Doña Tidad and to her older son, Chief Justice Don Norberto Romualdez
Norberto Romuáldez
Norberto Romuáldez y López was a Philippine writer, politician, jurist, and statesman. He was the first Lopez-Romuáldez to attain national prominence, and is deemed the "Father of the Law on the National Language"...
at the Romualdez home on Arquiza Street, Ermita
Ermita
Ermita may refer to the following:*Ermita, Manila, a place in the Philippines.*Ermita: A Filipino Novel, a novel by F. Sionil José.*Ermita "Ermi" Rojo, the protagonist in F. Sionil José's novel Ermita: A Filipino Novel....
a few days from that encounter. They are to wear their Sunday's best clothes. Unbeknownst to the two women, they would be judged on that day by the rest of the Romualdezes during their Sunday asalto.
Josephine wore American clothes while Meding wore her saya
Saya
Saya may refer to:* Saya, Aichi, a former town in Aichi, Japan, the Japanese term for a scabbard* Saya Chang , a pop singer from Taiwan * Afro-Bolivian Saya, a particular type of music of Bolivia...
and pañuelo.
They took with them the sealed envelope which had nothing more than a blank piece of paper.
When they arrived, the family invited both inside graciously. Song and the musical arts being actively pursued by the entire clan, the Romualdezes clamored the two to perform immediately after a piano and harp number by one of the younger members.
Josephine flatly declined adding that she neither plays nor can she sing. The Romualdezes were shocked in disbelief.
Remedios, the less beautiful of the two, hesitated at first. After a little more prodding, and with Loreto Buz Romualdez (later Mrs. Loreto Romualdez Ramos) on the musical instruments did she sang Ako'y Ibong Sawi (loosely translated to My Love Failed Me). Some were reduced to tears with the emotion Meding brought forth. A big round of applause thundered that day. Meding won a contest she did not plan on entering.
Meding and Josephine went home with a sealed envelope from Don Norberto Romualdez
Norberto Romuáldez
Norberto Romuáldez y López was a Philippine writer, politician, jurist, and statesman. He was the first Lopez-Romuáldez to attain national prominence, and is deemed the "Father of the Law on the National Language"...
. Unknown to them, it still had another blank piece of paper inside it.
After a few more months, the Romualdezes accelerated their move on Remedios Trinidad. At that same time, the Tinio son no longer visited. The nuns convinced Remedios of the benefits of marrying a man she did not love. They said the heart could be taught to love. And she would do a great service to God by helping this widower's household full of five teenager children (Lourdes, Francisco, Victoria, Dulce, Vicente Jr). Señor Orestes was wealthy, a lawyer riding on the fame of his generous brother Norberto or "Nonoy". His other brother Miguel Romualdez may someday be Mayor of Manila
Mayor of Manila
The Mayor of Manila is the head of the executive branch of the City of Manila's government. The mayor holds office at Manila City Hall. Like all local government heads in the Philippines, the mayor is elected via popular vote, and may not be elected for a fourth consecutive term...
(he eventually did while World War II was raging). The Romualdezes were educated. And most importantly, the nuns said, the Romualdezes were catolicos cerrados.
Meding capitulated. She agreed to marry the third and youngest son of Doña Tidad.
The High Mass was scheduled at 7:00AM at the San Miguel Pro Cathedral (the church still stands today) on General Solano street, San Miguel District, Manila. However, she was awakened at 3:00AM and was asked to get ready for the wedding hours in advance. The marriage ceremony lasted for a little more than 20 minutes behind closed church doors even when it was still dark outside. Later, she would find out that another woman by the name of "Trining" (or Trinidad) had been a "confidante of leisure" of her widower husband. The Romualdez matriarch moved the marriage so this other Trinidad would not come forth, stop the marriage, and embarrass the family.
Marriage
Remedios Trinidad settled with her husband and five stepchildren. She occupied the house Vicente Orestes built two years ago, also on General Solano street, for his then wife, the Moorish-looking mestiza Juanita Acereda of Barrio Tanghas, Tolosa, LeyteTolosa, Leyte
Tolosa is a 5th class municipality in the province of Leyte, Philippines. According to the 2000 census, it has a population of 14,539 people in 2,963 households....
(she died before the house was finished and was interred in San Miguel Pro-Cathedral). Calle General Solano was a bustling street in San Miguel District a few yards away from Malacañang Palace
Malacañang Palace
The Malacañan Palace, commonly known simply as Malacañang, is the official residence and principal workplace of the President of the Philippines. Located at 1000 J. P. Laurel Street, San Miguel, Manila, the house was built in 1750 in Spanish Colonial style. It has been the residence of every...
(home of the Philippine presidents and Philippine Governors-General) and the San Miguel Pro Cathedral. This street was once lined with Delonix Regia or Royal Poinciana
Royal Poinciana
Delonix regia is a species of flowering plant from the Fabaceae family, Caesalpinioideae subfamilia, noted for its fern-like leaves and flamboyant display of flowers. In many tropical parts of countries around the world it is grown as an ornamental tree and in English it is given the name Royal...
trees. In this gentrified neighborhood lived a number of important families such as the heirs of Trinidad Zobel, Angela Olgado Zobel (mother of Enrique Zobel
Enrique Zobel
Enrique Jacobo Emilio Zobel y Olgado , was a prominent Filipino businessman. The only child of Colonel Jacobo Zóbel y Roxas and Ángela Olgado, he was a member of the influential Zobel de Ayala family of the Philippines and a first cousin of Jaime Zobel de Ayala.Zobel was chief executive officer of...
), Reyeses and Bustamantes, et al. Part of the Malacañang Palace
Malacañang Palace
The Malacañan Palace, commonly known simply as Malacañang, is the official residence and principal workplace of the President of the Philippines. Located at 1000 J. P. Laurel Street, San Miguel, Manila, the house was built in 1750 in Spanish Colonial style. It has been the residence of every...
gardens used to be owned by Daniel Romualdez
Daniel Romualdez
Daniel Z. Romualdez was a Filipino politician who served as Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Philippines from 1957 to 1962....
Sr. of Pandacan, her eventual father-in-law. (This land was sold in the 1900s to pay for the schooling of Miguel Romualdez, Vicente Orestes Romualdez, and Norberto Romualdez
Norberto Romuáldez
Norberto Romuáldez y López was a Philippine writer, politician, jurist, and statesman. He was the first Lopez-Romuáldez to attain national prominence, and is deemed the "Father of the Law on the National Language"...
at the Ateneo de Manila which was located in Intramuros
Intramuros
Intramuros is the oldest district in the present day city of Manila, the capital of the Republic of the Philippines. Nicknamed the "Walled City", Intramuros is the historic fortified city of Manila, the seat ot the government during the Spanish Colonial Period. Its name in Latin, intramuros,...
before the war).
Her marriage was marked with heartaches from her stephchildren, a passive husband, numerous pregnancies, and much sacrifice to keep her husband's name in high repute.
Lourdes, the strong-willed daughter of Vicente Orestes, headed the children in rebelling against Meding. They treated her coldly. Arguments echoed from the Romualdez house especially when Lourdes insisted that the life size paintings of her mother's image not be moved in any way. Francisco and Vicente Jr followed suit. Meding spoke to her husband privately but he always sided with Lourdes.
With her husband being so strict with his brood of girls, Victoria (later a lawyer) suffered a nervous breakdown and Dulce (later Sister Bellarmine Romualdez, head of the Holy Ghost College, now known as the School of the Holy Spirit
School of the Holy Spirit
School of the Holy Spirit of Quezon City or SHSQC is a private all-girls Catholic school located in BF Homes, Quezon City, Philippines. The school is run by the Missionary Sisters, Servants of the Holy Spirit, a congregation established by German saint, Arnold Janssen.-History:German diocesan...
) was intimately shy. Meding, ever kind and mindful of her stepchildren's well being, brought them to Malolos and Baliuag to see the fiestas and meet young men and women their age.
She sought help from Beatriz, Norberto's second wife (Norberto's deceased first wife was Beatriz's cousin). Beatriz advised Meding to talk it over with Orestes. The latter was a boheme and cared little for the tempers flaring in his house. During nights to the zarzuela
Zarzuela
Zarzuela is a Spanish lyric-dramatic genre that alternates between spoken and sung scenes, the latter incorporating operatic and popular song, as well as dance...
s and movies, he brought his daughters along and left Meding in the house. She scrubbed the floors, cleaned the aparadores, counted the sheets, mended the clothes, and kept the entire house in good order similar to how she was trained at the Asilo. Instead of saying thank you, Lourdes and the rest regarded her hardwork as nothing more than being working class. They refused to be seen with Imelda and Benjamin even when all of them went to the same school so now the maid had to walk Remedios's children separately.
She went back to the nuns of the Looban Convent but there is not much that they could do. They said it was part of the sacrifices of marriage. Whatever Meding would do, they warned, she must keep the good Romualdez name intact.
Remedios's only causes for joy were the coming of her children: Imelda, Benjamin, Alita, Alfredo, Armando and Concepcion "Conchita." She made sure that she held happy thoughts, cooked her excellent galantina and embutido
Embutido
An embutido , enchido or embotits is a generic term for sausages found in Spain, Portugal, the Philippines, and Central and South America....
and frequented the churches and relatives around the city (to avoid confrontations with Lourdes). On practically all of these trips she brought her eldest Imelda, the most beautiful and gregarious of her offspring. (She would heat iron and curl her tressles and doll her up). Her love for her children kept her alive. She made sure she exuded a positive aura so that her children would not embibe the pains in her heart, so that they would come out healthy and strong.
Her old friend from the Asilo, Josephine, visited her once and was terribly surprised by what she saw. Society has come to know the Norberto Romualdezes and Miguel Romualdezes to be very wealthy and distinguished families. It was such an opposite that the youngest branch would have Meding cleaning house without enough househelp around her.
Her suitor, the Tinio son, came to know of her fate and stopped by General Solano. It was a doubly awkward moment as Vicente Orestes opened the door and Remedios was busy caring for her young children.
The Tinio son, now a graduate of Engineering, had come back--- still single. He was ready to marry Remedios against his family's wishes. That could not happen though, as now Remedios is married. The visit was civil, heartwarming, and very long. Vicente Orestes kept a wary eye from afar.
Her nearest friends during that time were their erstwhile male househelp Marcelo Cumpas and a young Leyte
Leyte
Leyte is a province of the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas region. Its capital is Tacloban City and occupies the northern three-quarters of the Leyte Island. Leyte is located west of Samar Island, north of Southern Leyte and south of Biliran...
maid, Estrella Cinco, who have remained with her, without any compensation, as the finances of the Vicente Orestes Romualdezes crumbled to pieces (Estrella Cinco was one of the daughters of the encargados managing the Romualdez plantations in Leyte. A very young but impoverished girl, she was adopted by Meding whose original intent was to bring her to Manila and enroll her to one of Manila's schools while at the same time helping around in the Romualdez home. Because of the crises that fell around them, Estrella stopped school and became nanny to Meding's six toddlers. She eventually married Marcelo Cumpas, had children and returned to Tanauan, Leyte
Tanauan, Leyte
Tanauan is a 2nd class municipality in the province of Leyte, Philippines. According to the 2000 census, it has a population of 45,056 people in 9,224 households.-Barangays:Tanauan is politically subdivided into 54 barangays.* Ada* Amanluran* Arado...
.)
Scandal
In the 1930s, Attorney Estela Romualdez Sulit, daughter of older brother Miguel Romualdez, was involved in a bar test scandal. The answers to the bar examinations were leaked and the Romualdez name was dragged into the newspapers.This incident barely affected the Norberto Romualdez
Norberto Romuáldez
Norberto Romuáldez y López was a Philippine writer, politician, jurist, and statesman. He was the first Lopez-Romuáldez to attain national prominence, and is deemed the "Father of the Law on the National Language"...
es who at this time were enjoying affluence in their homes in Mandaluyong, Ermita
Ermita
Ermita may refer to the following:*Ermita, Manila, a place in the Philippines.*Ermita: A Filipino Novel, a novel by F. Sionil José.*Ermita "Ermi" Rojo, the protagonist in F. Sionil José's novel Ermita: A Filipino Novel....
and Pasay.
This also did not affect much the fortunes of Miguel, who have since assembled choice Manila properties for rental and commercial deals.
However, for the easygoing Vicente, this was a death sentence. As administrator to Norberto's Romualdez Law Offices, many clients disassociated themselves from the firm. Vicente Orestes Romualdez's nest egg was slowly denuded to nothing.
One by one the maids started to disappear. Later, Vicente Orestes' prized Berlina limousine was repossessed by Estrella del Norte where he previously purchased it and which was the same car that carried Remedios to the then high class San Juan de Dios hospital to give birth to Imelda. The gates to the two story home began to rust and the hardwood floors no longer shimmered.
Remedios, barraged with ill feelings from Lourdes, tried her best to keep her household together. Since it would be improper to sell her wares while using the Romualdez name, she resorted to the Asilo nuns who readily spread the word that Meding's famous galantinas, embutidos and tocinos were available once more. Many among the wealthy came eager to buy--- only through the Asilo. With the help of a niece-in-law, Cecilia Planas Romualdez (wife of Miguel Jr), she also started selling embroidered baby's clothes covertly under the name of "R. Trinidad" so as to confuse the emporium owners that they were dealing with Ricardo, her brother. The baby's clothes were bestsellers among the window shops of the Escolta in Santa Cruz
Santa Cruz, Manila
Santa Cruz is located on the right bank of the Pasig River, on the northern portion of the City of Manila, near the mouth of the river, in between the districts of Tondo and Quiapo...
district.
She repeatedly made the voyage to Tacloban to put things in order. At that time, some encargados were pocketing money from the abaca
Abacá
Abacá, Musa textilis is a species of banana native to the Philippines, grown as a commercial crop in the Philippines, Ecuador, and Costa Rica. The plant is of great economic importance, being harvested for its fibre, once generally called Manila hemp, extracted from the trunk or pseudostem. On...
and coconut plantation on Gran Capitan left by Doña Tidad to her son Señor Orestes (these properties were actually purchased by Norberto for his own children. Instead, he named it to his mother Doña Tidad out of pure love and to lend credence that the Romualdezes were "landed". Doña Tidad, knowing that Miguel and Nonoy were far more astute and will lead affluent lives, deeded the choicest properties to her youngest Señor Orestes, whom she knew would be the weakest, though most handsome, among her her three children). Meding used part of the money she earned selling meats and embroideries to this matter.
Remedios, true to her merchant background, toiled very hard to save the Vicente Orestes Romualdez branch from outright indignation from Manila's elite.
Final Days
Because of rising tensions at the house, Remedios vacated the home entirely, with her then five children in tow, Estrella Cinco, some tampipis and a big aparador (Marcelo Cumpas has since been let go because there was no money to pay him. He took a job at the American Bazaar Ice Cream Parlor nearby and tried to finish school at night). They first stayed at the vacation home of Norberto and Beatriz in Mandaluyong. Afterwards, they rented single room apartments to be closer to the emporiums of Escolta and the nuns (The Looban Convent exists even today. It is located along United Nations Avenue in Manila). This lasted months.With the help of Ricardo Trinidad who at that time married a "wet market" vendor in Muñoz
Muñoz
Muñoz is a surname of Spanish origin. It may refer to:*Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport, a public airport located in Carolina, Puerto Rico*Luis Muñoz Rivera Park, a recreational and national park in Puerta de Tierra in San Juan, Puerto Rico...
market, a repentant Vicente Orestes knocked on her door and asked for her return. He urgently needed help. Doña Tidad died in 1933. His older brother Nonoy was touring Bacolod
Bacolod City
The City of Bacolod , is a highly urbanized midsize Philippine city. It is the capital of the Negros Occidental province. Having a total of 499,497 inhabitants as of August 1, 2007, it is the most populous city in the Western Visayas Region. It is currently ranked as the 17th most populous city in...
and Miguel was busy with his enterprises. Both were preoccupied with their growing families. What little help they could offer could not compare if Meding would return and put the house in order again.
When Remedios returned to the house on General Solano street, the house was on lis pendens
Lis pendens
Lis pendens is Latin for "suit pending." This may refer to any pending lawsuit or to a specific situation with a public notice of litigation that has been recorded in the same location where the title of real property has been recorded...
. She had to pay huge mortgage payments for the house to be back in the good graces of the bank creditor. The house was a big mess--- similar to the day when she first entered it that morning of her wedding. She tried her best to clean, mend the curtains, ordered bolts of fabric so she can sew and make the sheets, scrubbed the floors, sort the chipped china, everything. She paid for the electricity and the water. The roof was leaking so she asked Marcelo to buy rubber cement to cover th holes. When that did not work she went to the hardware and ordered galvanized sheets or "yero" / "hierro", a novelty at that time and therefore a tad more expensive. Her stepchildren were silent but could no longer interfere. The threat of Poverty stripped their Pride away.
Meding chose to live in the now empty garage to avoid further fights with her husband's children. On the heavy and large old table at the center of the garage was where her youngest, nicknamed "Conchita", conceived. This garage was also from where the young Imelda or "Meldy" would come out to ascend the staircase to the front door and ask for her allowance from her dear papa.
In her last two years Meding was always "afar", always caught looking else where. She was living day by day only for her children. She no longer cared for anything else, even the Romualdez name so held highly by those around her.
In her last act of defiance, Meding summoned a taxicab as soon as she felt labor pains, without anyone knowing. Days later, her husband's daughters by Juanita found her in the charity ward of the Philippine General Hospital
Philippine General Hospital
The Philippine General Hospital is a tertiary state-owned hospital administered and operated by the University of the Philippines Manila, the University of the Philippines System's Health Sciences Center. It is the largest government hospital administered by the university, and is designated as...
. Vicente Orestes was enraged. His youngest daughter's birth certificate would read "charity ward" in it forever and he felt he was slighted. (The said birth certificate was then changed in the later years during the Marcos
Marcos
-Sports:* Dayton Marcos, Negro League baseball team from Dayton, Ohio * Nélson Marcos, Portuguese footballer* Marcos Ambrose, Australian racing driver currently competing in NASCAR* Marcos Baghdatis, Cypriot tennis player...
presidency.)
Death
She died on April 7, 1938 in the Singian clinic, also on General Solano and a few yards away from both the Romualdez home and the San Miguel Pro-Cathedral, two days after her birthday, when she was 36. (Strangely, Juanita Acereda (Vicente Orestes' first wife) was still is interred inside the same church).The diagnosis was that she had severe pneumonia. Many attested that it was not so. Rather, she died with a broken heart.
She left the aparador that she brought with her in her every sojourn, some personal effects and a few pieces of good quality heirloom jewelry for Imelda. No one knows what came about of these stones.
On her burial day, none of her own children were present to see their mother off. They were told to stay in the house. She was interred in the Paco Park
Paco Park
Paco Park is a 4,114.80 square metre recreational garden area and was once Manila’s municipal cemetery during the Spanish colonial period. It is located along General Luna St...
cemetery, very near the Asilo from where she came. Lourdes, together with her sisters and brothers, was remorseful. She would later bring up Remedios's six young children as if they were her own.
On her death the Vicente Orestes Romualdez branch's fortunes fizzled out to nothing. The house was nearly foreclosed had it not been purchased for a measly sum by friends of the family, Mr. and Mrs. Antonio Ricafort.
Vicente Orestes and his eleven children from both marriages left Manila for the tranquil shores and less complicated life of Leyte.
Up until their teenage years, Imelda, Benjamin, Alita, Alfredo, Armando and Conchita thought that the lady in the photographs (Juanita Acereda) their step siblings showed to them were their mother as well. Only in their mature years did they know more about their true mother, Remedios Trinidad.
During World War II, Paco Park
Paco Park
Paco Park is a 4,114.80 square metre recreational garden area and was once Manila’s municipal cemetery during the Spanish colonial period. It is located along General Luna St...
's age old Roman style cemetery was used as foxholes by the Japanese. Remedios Trinidad's bones were disinterred after her husband Señor Orestes's paid encargado was shot to death prior to saving her remains from the chaos. This explains why, in 1965, her daughter the newly installed First Lady laid wreaths to her cousin Speaker Daniel Romualdez
Daniel Romualdez
Daniel Z. Romualdez was a Filipino politician who served as Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Philippines from 1957 to 1962....
y Zialcita's (a son of Miguel Romualdez) but none for her (even after Loreto Romualdez Ramos insisted so every time she met her cousin Imelda); no one could tell where the bones of Remedios went.
Children
Imelda Romualdez Marcos, married to Ferdinand MarcosFerdinand Marcos
Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos, Sr. was a Filipino leader and an authoritarian President of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He was a lawyer, member of the Philippine House of Representatives and a member of the Philippine Senate...
, former Philippine President. Former congresswoman of Leyte. Former governor of Manila
Manila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
. Her children include Maria Imelda Josefa Marcos or Imee Marcos
Imee Marcos
Maria Imelda Josefa Romualdez Marcos , most widely known as Imee Marcos, is a Filipino politician who has been Governor of Ilocos Norte since 2010. She served three terms as Representative of the 2nd District of Ilocos Norte in the Philippine House of Representatives from 1998 to 2007...
, congresswoman of Ilocos Norte
Ilocos Norte
Ilocos Norte is a province of the Philippines located in the Ilocos Region in Luzon. Its capital is Laoag City and is located at the northwest corner of Luzon Island, bordering Cagayan and Apayao to the east, and Abra and Ilocos Sur to the south...
; Ferdinand Jr or Bongbong Marcos, governor of Ilocos Norte; Irene Marcos, married to Gregorio Benitez Araneta; and Aimee Marcos.
Benjamin Trinidad Romualdez, married to Julita Gomez, of the prosperous Gomezes of Leyte. His children are Architect Daniel Romualdez
Daniel Romualdez
Daniel Z. Romualdez was a Filipino politician who served as Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Philippines from 1957 to 1962....
of New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and the Hamptons
Hamptons
The Hamptons may refer to several villages and hamlets in the towns of Southampton and East Hampton on the far east end of Suffolk County in Long Island, New York. These townships occupy the South Fork of Long Island, stretching into the Atlantic Ocean. The Hamptons form a popular seaside resort,...
; Benjamin Phillip Romualdez of the Benguet Mining Corporation; congressman Ferdinand Martin Romualdez who owns shares in Banco de Oro and San Miguel Pure Foods; and Maria Remedios "Marean" Pompidou
Pompidou
People named Pompidou include:*Georges Pompidou, former French Prime Minister and President*Alain Pompidou, foster son of Georges Pompidou and President of the European Patent Office from July 1, 2004 to June 30, 2007Named after President Pompidou is:...
of Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
and Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, wife of one of one of the grandsons of Georges Pompidou
Georges Pompidou
Georges Jean Raymond Pompidou was a French politician. He was Prime Minister of France from 1962 to 1968, holding the longest tenure in this position, and later President of the French Republic from 1969 until his death in 1974.-Biography:...
.
Alita Trinidad Romualdez, married to Rodolfo Martel.
Alfredo Trinidad Romualdez, married to Agnes Sison. Former Tacloban city mayor. His son, Alfredo Jr, was a former congressman of Leyte
Leyte
Leyte is a province of the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas region. Its capital is Tacloban City and occupies the northern three-quarters of the Leyte Island. Leyte is located west of Samar Island, north of Southern Leyte and south of Biliran...
.
Armando Trinidad Romualdez, married to Vilma Romualdez.
Concepcion Trinidad Romualdez, also known as Conchita, married to Edon Yap. Mr. Yap who was a close security aide of Imelda Marcos. Their daughter, Michelle is married to the mayor Tobey Tiangco of Navotas.
Step Children
Lourdes Acereda Romualdez, divorced from Emilio Caguiat, a Filipino based in the United States. Lourdes Romualdez was a lawyer.Francisco Acereda Romualdez, married to Milagros Lebumfacil. Their daughter is Miss Philippines Margarita Lebumfacil Romualdez.
Victoria Acereda Romualdez. She remained single all her life. She was also a lawyer.
Dulce Acereda Romualdez, and later known as Bellarmine, single. A Catholic nun, specifically the former Mother Superior of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit's Philippine province.
Vicente Acereda Romualdez Jr., married first to Juanita Paguia then second to Rosita Veloso.
Trivia
- She is the mother of Philippine First Lady Imelda MarcosImelda MarcosImelda R. Marcos is a Filipino politician and widow of 10th Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos. Upon the ascension of her husband to political power, she held various positions to the government until 1986...
. - Following pre-war Manila convention, her daughter Imelda's full name was Imelda Remedios Visitacion. Imelda as a given name. Visitacion for the day she was born in the Catholic Calendar which was the Feast of the Visitation of Mary. Remedios for her as the mother.
- She is the mother of former Ambassador and former Governor Benjamin Romualdez.
- She is the mother of Tacloban city Mayor Alfredo Romualdez.
- During the MarcosMarcos-Sports:* Dayton Marcos, Negro League baseball team from Dayton, Ohio * Nélson Marcos, Portuguese footballer* Marcos Ambrose, Australian racing driver currently competing in NASCAR* Marcos Baghdatis, Cypriot tennis player...
years, the town of Doña Remedios Trinidad was carved out of Norzagaray and the neighboring municipalities. - Her offspring created the Remedios Trinidad Romualdez Medical Foundation.
- A town in Agusan del NorteAgusan del NorteAgusan del Norte is a province of the Philippines located in the Caraga, a region in Mindanao. Its capital is Cabadbaran City and it borders Surigao del Norte to the north, Surigao del Sur to the east, Agusan del Sur to the south, and Misamis Oriental to the west...
province, MindanaoMindanaoMindanao is the second largest and easternmost island in the Philippines. It is also the name of one of the three island groups in the country, which consists of the island of Mindanao and smaller surrounding islands. The other two are Luzon and the Visayas. The island of Mindanao is called The...
was also named after her. - She and the rest of the Vicente Orestes Romualdezes are immortalized in a beautiful family tree depicting a coral reef fan, done by Betsy Brias Westendorp. The gigantic painting hangs by the staircase of the Santo Niño Shrine in Leyte.
- The remains of Vicente Orestes Romualdez and that of Juanita Acereda, were moved from Manila to the Romualdez family compound in Barrio OlotOlotOlot is the capital of the comarca of the Garrotxa, in the province of Girona, Catalonia, Spain.- Etymology :The etymology of Olot is not clear and there are several hypotheses...
, Leyte. On the right side of Vicente Orestes's is an empty niche to remember Remedios. - Dra. Paciencia "Inday" Escolin is related to Imelda MarcosImelda MarcosImelda R. Marcos is a Filipino politician and widow of 10th Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos. Upon the ascension of her husband to political power, she held various positions to the government until 1986...
not through her paternal Romualdez heritage but rather through her maternal Trinidad line.
See also
- Daniel RomualdezDaniel RomualdezDaniel Z. Romualdez was a Filipino politician who served as Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Philippines from 1957 to 1962....
- Ferdinand MarcosFerdinand MarcosFerdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos, Sr. was a Filipino leader and an authoritarian President of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He was a lawyer, member of the Philippine House of Representatives and a member of the Philippine Senate...
- Imelda MarcosImelda MarcosImelda R. Marcos is a Filipino politician and widow of 10th Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos. Upon the ascension of her husband to political power, she held various positions to the government until 1986...
- Imee MarcosImee MarcosMaria Imelda Josefa Romualdez Marcos , most widely known as Imee Marcos, is a Filipino politician who has been Governor of Ilocos Norte since 2010. She served three terms as Representative of the 2nd District of Ilocos Norte in the Philippine House of Representatives from 1998 to 2007...
- Ferdinand Marcos, Jr.Ferdinand Marcos, Jr.Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos, Jr. , also known as Bongbong Marcos is a Filipino politician and a senator to the 15th Congress. He is the only son of Ferdinand E. Marcos, the former president of the Philippines , and former First Lady Imelda Romualdez-Marcos...
- Benjamin Romualdez