Alberto Romualdez

Romualdez was the eldest of the seven children of Alberto Zialcita Romualdez Sr., a former secretary general of the World Medical Association, and Covadonga del Gallego, a former chairman of the Pathology Department of the University of Santo Tomas Hospital. Among his siblings are footballer Johnny Romualdez and Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose Manuel Romualdez.

He was a scion of the prominent Romualdez political clan of Manila and Leyte. His uncle Daniel Jr. was House Speaker from 1956 to 1962 while his grandfather Miguel served as Manila mayor during the American colonial period and Leyte assemblyman during the Commonwealth era. A greatuncle, Norberto Sr., served as justice of the Supreme Court.

The late secretary was also a distant nephew of former First Lady Imelda Marcos; his second cousins include Speaker Martin Romualdez, Chamber of Mines of the Philippines President Benjamin Philip Romualdez Jr., President Bongbong Marcos, Senator Imee Marcos and Tacloban Mayor Alfred Romualdez.

Romualdez graduated from the University of the Philippines as Doctor of Medicine, and a Bachelor of Arts in Biological Sciences from the Ateneo de Manila University. He had further education in the United States; Tumor Immunology at the University of Connecticut and Membrane Biophysics at the Harvard Medical School.[1]

His started working at the Department of Health as a Medical Adviser (1979–1982) for the Minister for Health.[1] He was also the director of the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine between 1981 and 1984.[1]

Romualdez was survived by his wife Peachy and their children. Romualdez died at the age of 73 on October 14, 2013, in Manila Doctors Hospital two days after a heart attack. The exact cause of death was not released by the media, but there were reports of his suffering from lymphoma.[2]