Despite the increasing likelihood that the Philippines just elected Rodrigo Duterte, otherwise known as the “Trump of the East,” into the presidency, the island nation’s current elections also selected Geraldine Roman for a congressional seat. Representing the first district of the Bataan province, the seat was previously held by Roman’s mother, Herminia Roman since 2007. Aside from the legacy factor, however, the most prominent aspect of Geraldine’s presumptive win has to do with her status as an out transgender person. Once the final votes are quantified, she’ll be the first public transgender politician elected to office in the country’s history.
When BuzzFeed reported Roman’s win Monday morning, 94.83% of the ballots cast in the race between her and rival Danny Malana had been accounted for. Roman possessed 102,178 of the votes counted, whereas Malana garnered only 62,359. The GMA Network’s latest numbers indicate that 98.71% of the votes for the Bataan first district have been tallied, putting Roman at 104,278 and Malana at 63,881.
The Liberal Party candidate has faced criticism from detractors about her gender preference and her family’s political history. After all, before her mother Herminia took office in 2007, Roman’s father Antonio served in the same congressional seat for three terms. Yet as she explained to Reuters, her popularity had nothing to do with either of these factors. Instead, it had everything to do with her political platform.
“The ideal situation is where gender is not an issue and we can focus on the platform, the agenda and the personality and the character of each candidate,” she said. “That’s what is important, not the gender really.”
Roman continued by giving all credit to her supporters, many of whom hail from low-income families made hopeful by her promises to provide renewed infrastructure and medical access in Bataan: “People look beyond the gender and look at what you offer and what’s in your heart. That is the most important thing.”
Despite the Philippines’ ardent Catholicism, Roman has identified as a woman for two decades.