Yedda Marie Mendoza Kittilstvedt-Romualdez (Tagalog pronunciation: [ɾoˈmwɐldɛs], born October 22, 1973) is a Filipina politician, beauty queen, and nurse. She is currently serving as the representative of Tingog Party List since 2019. She had previously represented Leyte's 1st district from 2016 to 2019. Her four consecutive terms in Congress have been criticized as a potential violation of the Constitution.[2][3][4] She is the wife of Martin Romualdez, who served as the Speaker of the House from 2022 to 2025.
Yedda Romualdez | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Official portrait, 2025 | |
| Member of the Philippine House of Representatives for Tingog Party List | |
| Assumed office June 30, 2019 | |
| Member of the Philippine House of Representatives from Leyte's 1st district | |
| In office June 30, 2016 – June 30, 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Martin Romualdez |
| Succeeded by | Martin Romualdez |
| President of the Congressional Spouses Foundation, Inc. | |
| In office July 25, 2022 – September 17, 2025 | |
| Preceded by | Rowena Amara |
| Succeeded by | Mary Ann Arcega |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Yedda Marie Mendoza Kittilstvedt October 22, 1973[1] Cebu City, Philippines |
| Party | Tingog Sinirangan (2019–present) Lakas (2015–present) |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 4 (including Ferdinand Martin Jr. and Andrew Julian) |
| Parents |
|
| Education | Cebu Doctors' College (BS) |
She represented the Philippines at the Miss International 1996 pageant, where she placed in the Top 15.
Pageantry
editRomualdez first competed in the Supermodel of the World-Philippines pageant in 1991 where she was first runner-up to Lorena Pangan.[5] She competed in the Binibining Pilipinas pageant in 1996, and became the country's representative in that year's Miss International competition in Japan, where she placed in the Top 15.[6] After participating in Binibining Pilipinas, she was cast in a San Miguel Beer commercial titled "S-Capade".[7]
Political career
editRomualdez was the representative of the first district of Leyte in the House of Representatives of the Philippines from 2016 to 2019.[8][9] From 2019, she served as the first nominee of the partylist Tingog Sinirangan (now Tingog), and has served as its representative in Congress beginning in 2019.[10] She was re-elected in 2022 but opted to become the sixth nominee in 2025 with her son Andrew Julian Romualdez as the first nominee.[1] The partylist gained only three seats, effectively ending her term in 2025.[11] However, following the resignation of Tingog's third to fifth nominees (Marie Josephine Diana Calatrava, Alexis Yu, and Paul Richard Muncada), Romualdez was elevated to third nominee and reassumed her seat on July 18, 2025, eighteen days after the end of her previous term.[12]
Personal life
editRomualdez' father, Joseph Kittilstvedt, is from Norway and her mother, Maria Yedda Mendoza Kittilstvedt, is from Cebu.[13][14] She has four sisters and one brother.[13] Romualdez graduated in nursing from the Cebu Doctors' College in Cebu City[5] and is a registered nurse.[6]
She met businessman Martin Romualdez in 1995 prior to her entering the Binibining Pilipinas 1996 pageant.[13] They discreetly married under civil rites in Hong Kong in November 1999, with a public church wedding presided by Archbishop Pedro Dean following at Santuario de San Antonio in Forbes Park, Makati, a few meters from Martin's family home, on February 4, 2001.[13] The church wedding was sponsored by Martin's aunt, former first lady Imelda Marcos, while his cousin Bongbong Marcos's sons Sandro and Simon respectively served as bible bearer and ring bearer.[13] Martin served as the 24th Speaker of the House of Representatives from 2022 to 2025 and has served as a congressman from Leyte since 2019.[15] They have four children. Their sons Ferdinand Martin "Marty" Romualdez Jr. and Andrew Julian Romualdez are also in politics, having been elected as a councilor of Tacloban and her fellow representative for Tingog Party List in 2025, respectively.[16]
Electoral history
edit| Year | Office | Party | Votes received | Result | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | % | P. | Swing | |||||
| 2016 | Representative (Leyte–1st) | Lakas | 147,477 | 73.66% | 1st | N/a | Won | |
| 2019 | Representative (Party-list) | Tingog Sinirangan | 391,211 | 1.40% | 18th | N/a | Won | |
| 2022 | Tingog | 886,959 | 2.41% | 3rd | +1.01 | Won | ||
| 2025 | 1,822,708 | 4.34% | 3rd | +1.93 | Won | |||
References
edit- 1 2 "47. TINGOG" (PDF). Commission on Elections. Retrieved October 30, 2024.
- ↑ "[EDITORIAL] What happened to delicadeza, Yedda Romualdez?". Rappler (in Filipino). Rappler Inc. July 21, 2025. Retrieved August 30, 2025.
[S]a profile ng Rappler reporter na si Dwight de Leon, tila may puso ang asawa ni Speaker Martin Romualdez, 'reluctant politician,' at kumpirmadong walang ere — kaya nga mas nakaka-disappoint na mag-circumvent siya ng term limit.
- ↑ Kontra Daya (July 22, 2025). "Romualdezes gaming party-list system, circumventing 1987 Constitution". Facebook. Meta Platforms Inc. Retrieved August 30, 2025.
'This is further evidence that political dynasties are gaming the partylist system to extend their political power,' said Dr. Danilo Arao, convenor of Kontra Daya.
- ↑ Banal, Anton (July 24, 2025). "Macalintal: SC or HRET must rule on Yedda Romualdez case". SunStar. SunStar Publishing Inc. Retrieved August 30, 2025.
- 1 2 Lo, Ricky. "Will Pia act as sponsor at Vic-Pauleen nuptials?". Philstar.com. Retrieved December 11, 2021.
- 1 2 "Tingog nominee Yedda Romualdez seeks reelection". Manila Standard. Retrieved December 11, 2021.
- ↑ "A San Miguel Beer summer". Manila Standard. Vol. X, no. 104. Kamahalan Publishing Corporation. May 27, 1996. p. 28B. Retrieved April 29, 2026.
- ↑ Lo, Ricky. "Leyte Rep. Yedda inherits work load from hubby Martin". Philstar.com. Retrieved December 11, 2021.
- ↑ Gabieta, Joey A. (2016-05-11). "Former beauty queen Yedda Romualdez wins Leyte congress seat". INQUIRER.net. Retrieved December 11, 2021.
- ↑ "Comelec proclaims Romualdez; Tingog party-list has edge over rival". Manila Standard. Retrieved December 11, 2021.
- ↑ Gabieta, Joey A. (2025-02-08). "Speaker's son replaces mom as Tingog party-list's first nominee". INQUIRER.net. Retrieved 2025-06-08.
- ↑ Patinio, Ferdinand (July 18, 2025). "Tingog Rep. Yedda Romualdez to be proclaimed as 3rd nominee - Comelec". Philippine News Agency. Retrieved July 18, 2025.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Ramirez, Donnie C. (February 11, 2001). "Fullest blessing on fullest love". Philippine Daily Inquirer. The Philippine Daily Inquirer, Inc. pp. F1, F4, F6. Retrieved April 29, 2026.
She [Yedda Romualdez] explains, 'Each color represents a memorable place that Martin and I have visited. Red is for Paris, nude is for Amanpulo, mauve is for Florence and pink is for Hong Kong.'
- ↑ Lo, Ricky. "Beauty (titles) run in the family". Philstar.com. Retrieved December 11, 2021.
- ↑ Abella, Lizbeth Ann (October 7, 2021). "Romualdez seeks another term in Congress". Philippine News Agency. Retrieved December 11, 2021.
- ↑ Gabieta, Joey A. (February 8, 2025). "Speaker's son replaces mom as Tingog party-list's first nominee". INQUIRER.net. Retrieved June 8, 2025.