Roman & Shalani walk 118 kms on their second honeymoon
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| Roman Romulo and Shalani Romulo: “When we have different beliefs, we discuss. We respect each other’s decisions.” |
It was a quiet, rainy evening in their lovely, modest home.
Without an ounce of makeup and with her hair tied, his polo tucked in and his
hair combed neatly, their eyes sparkled as they looked at each other and posed
for the photographer. Hot tea was served and standards were playing in the
background. Everything was so low-key, you wouldn’t guess it was a
congressman’s home.
Here are 10 things you should know about Rep. Roman and
Shalani Soledad-Romulo.
1. Shalani was 30
years old when she first met her biological father.
“That was the first time I saw him. People were asking me,
‘Wala bang galit?’ At that point, parang tapos na. I was done asking questions
like, ‘Sino ang daddy ko?’ or ‘Bakit hindi niya ako hinahanap?” I was just
happy to finally see him. At that time I had my own career, I was happy with
life, it was a bonus for me. And finally the missing piece,” she shares.
“Meron, yes,” she says about lukso ng dugo. “You will just know, there’s
something inside you that will tell you.”
When asked if she ever went through a rebellious stage
growing up, she says: “I guess the normal phase. When it was a school day I
usually had to go home at 7 p.m. but sometimes I’d be out for dinner with my
friends and go home at 8 or 9, or I’d ask permission to go out to Alabang but
we would go to Star
City. Typical lang, wala
naman yung tipong naglayas ng bahay,” Shalani says. “Yes, I would get
grounded!”
2. Roman, on growing
up in a political environment: “They would constantly remind us that if we do
something, it would reflect on the family.”
“Weekends we were all together, Sunday Mass together, lunch
all together, it really didn’t disrupt the family life,” he says of his dad,
former DFA Secretary Alberto Romulo’s job. “Growing up, nakagisnan na namin
yung eleksyon. I remember when we were young, when my dad’s uncle Carlos P.
Romulo ran, my dad was the campaign manager. We would tag along in the campaign
sorties that would go on for weeks. As a kid it was more of fun. Of course,
you’d want to win, but being a kid, you didn’t really know what the position
was like. Basta natapos yung eleksyon, we’d all go back to our own lives.”
On the pressure to not get into any trouble because of their
name: “In my college days, my dad was a senator. Especially in UP there was a
lot going on, na-limit talaga ako. I never really went to gimmicks or girly
bars, because, of course, you’ll never know what can happen. That’s what I
always tell Lans, at least she’s sure that growing up, I never got into that,”
he says laughing. Shalani giggles, too.
3. Shalani, on her
bashers when she tried her hand at showbiz: “I really didn’t take it
personally, I took it positively.”
“It wasn’t a goal, it was something that was just offered to
me,” she says of her hosting duties for the game/variety show Willing Willie.
“At that time I was intending to turn it down but ended up saying yes, and
eventually I really enjoyed the show. You get to meet different kinds of people
and learn from the experiences of others. When you are watching TV, you say,
‘Ay, ang dali ng trabaho nila.’ Hindi pala. It entails a lot of hard work and
discipline.”
On bashers who criticized her hosting style: “I know naman
I’m not the typical host that’s very bubbly. When other people give comments, I
really take it as constructive criticism. Because I know there is always room
for improvement. When they criticize me, it means they get to watch the show.”
Roman, on if he ever got to watch Shalani host on TV: “Nakapanood
ako ng konti. The times I would watch was more for timing, because I would pick
her up after work. So more or less I know when I’d have to leave,” he says. “I
was courting her at the time so I was more concerned about what to do after
picking her up. Dinner ba, or pupunta ba sa bahay nila? Basta kailangan masaya
siya.”
4. Roman, prior to
meeting Shalani, was already certain he wanted to bring his future
girlfriend/wife on a European trip. Sure enough, their honeymoon was in Paris and Rome.
“My contemporaries, most got married at a certain time. Ako
na lang yung single. We’d go out, tatlo kami, because they were always a couple
and ako lang. Or we’d travel to Singapore
or Hong Kong, they would all be couples. But
to go to Europe, such a romantic place, ang
hirap naman to go with friends or couples, especially. So I told myself that’s
one thing I will really do, travel to Europe
with my girlfriend or wife,” he shares.
Roman went through the whole bachelor phase of dating, until
he met Shalani over three years ago. “We hit it off well after some time, not
immediately. I was very interested, obviously she’s very pretty. Then we
started going out, and as we got to talk, it was not that difficult to be a
match. It was easy to get along with each other,” he says.
The day after their wedding, they flew off for their
honeymoon. It was Shalani’s first time to Europe.
“Paris is
really a magical place, so romantic, everywhere the scenery is so nice, and
you’re with your husband pa,” she recalls as she looks at Roman and smiles. “It
was winter, ang lamig. And we loved walking around. Every now and then we’d go
into a cafe even if we wouldn’t order coffee, just because it was too cold.”
Summer this year, they returned to Europe (convinced by a
promo for a good deal on plane fare) but this time, to London
and Spain.
“We did the Santiago de Compostela pilgrimage, we walked 118 kilometers for
five days,” Roman recalls. “We’d be walking around 10 hours a day, sleep at
small inns in different municipalities, until we reached our destination,” he
adds. “It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” Shalani says.
When asked if they ever argue when traveling because of
hunger or tiredness, they both laugh. “At one point I told Roman, ‘Ang sakit na
talaga ng paa ko, mag-taxi na tayo,’ He said sayang naman because we started it
already, but if we wanted, me and another friend we were with, could go ahead
and take a cab. But, of course, I couldn’t leave him, so kahit umuulan
naglalakad na din ako. If it wasn’t for Roman and his stubbornness to finish,
baka hindi namin natapos.”
5. Roman and Shalani
in numbers:
7: Number of months from the day they met to the day they
got married, Jan. 22, 2012.
5: Number of minutes it takes Roman to get ready in the
morning.
90: Number of minutes it takes Shalani to get ready in the
morning.
13: The age gap between Shalani, 34, and Roman, 47.
9: Number of years Shalani served as councilor of
Valenzuela, from 2004 to 2013.
39: Number of bills authored/co-authored by Roman since
2013, including the Unified Financial Assistance Bill and the Voluntary Student
Loan Program, both already passed in Congress and waiting for Senate approval
6. They don’t
necessarily have the same opinion on political issues.
“Even if we have different beliefs, we discuss. We try to
present our sides,” Shalani says. “At the end of the day, we will compromise,
okay that’s what you believe in, this is what I believe in. We respect each other’s
decisions.”
On the FOI: “We’re both for it. Yun naman, obvious.”
On the DAP: “We both agree that the Supreme Court is the
arbiter, the protector of the right thing, they have the final say that is
non-political.”
On the RH Law: “I was not for it,” Roman says. “I’m
pro-choice,” Shalani says. “I’m pro-life,” Roman rebuts. They both laugh.
On Roman’s move from the Lakas Kampi Party to the LP: “Yes,
in a way because Lans was already in LP, but not only that, currently it’s run
really well. It’s good to belong to a party whose leader is sincere.”
On the possibility of Shalani running for public office
again: “For now, no plans.”
7. On the upload of
their wedding photo online with their ninang Janet Napoles, during the height
of the Napoles trial with the whistleblowers: “We were just hopeful that people
would discerning enough to know the truth.”
“We just wanted the truth to come out. When I was in office
and in Roman’s handling of his office, never did we put any money there. All of the money that was allocated to the
office was really used by the office for the people, for his constituents in Pasig, and in my case our
constituents in Valenzuela,” Shalani says.
“We were more surprised than anything. We honestly did not
have a deep relationship, she was known as a businesswoman and since we never
dealt with her on that level, when these things came out, it was more of a
surprise,” Roman says.
8. What is the first
thing that comes to mind when you hear the name...
P-Noy
Roman: Honest person.
Shalani: Kung walang corrupt, walang mahirap.
Willie Revillame
R: Funny.
S: Willing Willie.
Kris Aquino
R: Cory and Ninoy.
S: Queen of all media.
VP Binay
R: Good leader.
S: Kay Binay, gaganda ang buhay.
Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile
R: Institution in the Senate.
S: One of the longest-serving public officials.
Sen. Jinggoy Estrada
R: One of the Greenhills basketball boys.
S: Son of Erap.
Sen. Grace Poe
R: FPJ.
S: FPJ.
Mayor Erap
Estrada
R:
Charismatic.
S: Erap para
sa mahirap.
Rep. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo
R: Strong leader.
S: Strong leader.
US President Barack Obama
R: There’s still so much he can do before his term ends.
S: Broke all records.
9. Early on in their
relationship, they established a “No Edit Policy.”
“Whatever you want to say, your feelings on a certain
matter,” Shalani says. “Ilabas mo lahat,” Roman finishes her sentence.
“Otherwise nagpapatong-patong. Even the smallest things, even if it is so far
from the issue, say it,” she adds. “Hindi kami yung tipong nagdadabog, or one
would be on this side and the other would be on the other side. We really
discuss,” he adds.
On a surprising trait they discovered about each other after
marriage: “Lans cooks, which was a pleasant surprise. She can cook anything and
hindi namin problema kahit kaming dalawa lang dito sa bahay,” Roman shares. “In
terms of his clothes, hindi siya maarte or mapili. He doesn’t mind the brand,
he doesn’t mind if luma as long as functional pa. I fold his clothes so I see
sometimes may butas na yung shirt but he’ll still use it because it’s his
favorite or because it’s comfortable,” Shalani reveals.
On their best advice on marriage: “Always remember your
commitment. It isn’t going to be perfect, may times maiinis ka, but always
remember why you chose this person para maalala mo that you love this person,”
Shalani says. “That it’s normal that you don’t agree on everything, so it’s
best to talk and talk and talk,” Roman says. “Sinasabi niya yan pero minsan
kapag ako yung may issue, he’ll say, ‘O tapos ka na,” Shalani laughs.
“Kailangan kasi mailabas lang,” Roman adds and they both laugh again.
10. On who between
them is the better politician. Roman says it’s Shalani, and Shalani says itis
Roman.
“To be a politician, dapat mabilis mong makuha yung pulso ng
tao, and Lans has that,” Roman says.
“I see his work ethic, at any given time, kapag may
kailangan yung constituents niya, even if he is sleeping, even at his most
inconvenient time, gagawin niya. Not because he’s my husband, it is really what
makes him stand out for me,” Shalani says.
On what life in politics has taught them: “Kailangan talaga
humility, especially in dealing with people. Ang daming points of view and
kahit sino kausap mo, kailangan makinig ka,” Roman says. “You will not always
be in office, so once you are in that position, make sure you maximize it and
really do something good,” Shalani says.
* * *
I asked what their plans are in,
say, 10 years. “Hopefully with kids,” Shalani answers with a smile. “That’s the
one thing we’re really hoping for as soon as possible,” Roman adds. “Sana twins!” Shalani
says. “Pinaka masayang times namin are with family when we are all together,
even with our pamangkins. Ultimately ‘yun naman ang gusto mo, maging masaya ang
buhay,” Roman ends. After our long chat, the couple personally accompanies us
out the front door, holding hands, and still with that sparkle in their eyes.
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