President’s uncle, Alfredo ‘Bejo’ Romualdez, dies at age 91
TACLOBAN CITY—Former Tacloban City Mayor Alfredo “Bejo” Romualdez passed away on Oct. 17 at the age of 91 after a prolonged illness.
His son, Tacloban City Mayor Alfred Romualdez, and grandson, Vice Mayor Raymund Romualdez, have yet to issue an official statement as of Tuesday.
His death was confirmed by his younger son, Resty Romualdez, through a social media post on Oct. 19.
“With profound sadness, we share that our beloved father, Mayor Bejo Romualdez, has passed away peacefully. A man of deep faith and strength, his wisdom, laughter and presence were a blessing to all who knew him,” Resty wrote.
Romualdez’s remains are currently at the Heritage Memorial Park in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City. His body is expected to be brought back to Tacloban on Oct. 23 although funeral details have yet to be announced at this time.
A younger brother of former first lady Imelda Marcos and an uncle of President Marcos, Romualdez served as Tacloban City mayor from 1988 to 2007.
During his long tenure, he was credited with ushering in a wave of modernization—attracting new investors, establishing shopping malls and food chains.
He was also a key advocate for the conversion of Tacloban into a highly urbanized city, a status it achieved in 2008.
Despite his achievements in local governance, Romualdez was also linked to several ill-gotten wealth cases, including a civil forfeiture case in 1996 where he and his wife were accused of amassing properties illegally.
But the Sandiganbayan dismissed the forfeiture case against him and several others in June 2024, citing inordinate delay and the government’s failure to substantiate its allegations against him.
