# Romeo Jalosjos Sr.

Romeo "Nonong" Garcia Jalosjos Sr. (born November 24, 1940) is a Filipino politician, businessman, and television producer who was convicted and imprisoned for raping an 11-year-old girl in 1996 while he was still a congressman.

## Business career

Jalosjos began his career as a television producer for ABC and ABS-CBN. Following the closure of ABS-CBN in the aftermath of the declaration of martial law in September 1972, he cofounded Philippine Production Center, Inc., and with the permission of the Lopez family who owned ABS-CBN, brought several of their shows such as Pugo’s Si Tatang Kasi and Dolphy’s Buhay Artista to its rival network, RBS-7, in December 1972. A few years later, he helped set up Production Specialists, and became responsible for the production of several television programs such as Binibining Pilipinas and other beauty pageants, as well as games of the Philippine Basketball Association.
In 1981, Jalosjos, along with his assistant at Production Specialists Tony Tuviera and actors Tito Sotto, Vic Sotto, and Joey de Leon, known collectively as TVJ, founded Television and Production Exponents Inc. (TAPE Inc.), which became known for producing what would become one of the longest-running shows on Philippine television, Eat Bulaga!, of which the Sotto brothers and de Leon became the noontime show's longtime hosts. Jalosjos was also responsible for the selection of the show's name, which was proposed by de Leon, from a list. At the same time, Jalosjos stumbled upon and developed a white-sand beach property in Dapitan, Zamboanga del Norte called Dakak (short for dakong kakahoyan or "big forest"), which has since become a major luxury resort.

## Entry into politics

In 1984, Jalosjos entered national politics by being elected as representative of Zamboanga del Norte to the Regular Batasang Pambansa in the 1984 elections. However, his term was cut short after the chamber was abolished by President Corazon Aquino following the People Power Revolution in 1986.
In 1995, Jalosjos successfully ran for the House of Representatives representing the 1st district of Zamboanga del Norte.

## Rape case and imprisonment

While serving as a congressman, Jalosjos was charged in 1996 with two counts of statutory rape and 12 counts of sexual abuse and exploitation with lascivious acts for the rape of an 11-year-old girl who had been brought into prostitution by her father in exchange for ₱10,000 ($385) at Jalosjos' condominium unit at the Ritz Towers in Makati. After a warrant was issued for his arrest on December 26 that year, Jalosjos went into hiding until he was arrested by police and units of the National Bureau of Investigation and the Presidential Security Group led by its deputy commander, Colonel Hermogenes Esperon Jr., in an island off Bagac, Bataan on January 17, 1997.
Jalosjos was detained at the Makati City Jail and was tried by the Makati Regional Trial Court Branch 62, which convicted him on two counts of statutory rape and six counts of acts of lasciviousness and sentenced him to life imprisonment and pay damages to the victim. He was subsequently transferred to the New Bilibid Prison. Jalosjos unsuccessfully appealed to the Supreme Court against his conviction in 2001 and 2002. Despite his legal condition, Jalosjos managed to serve as an elected representative and won reelection in 1998 and 2001. Following the Supreme Court's second affirmation of his sentence in 2002, he was removed from the roster of the House of Representatives and was replaced by his sister and mayor of Piñan, Cecilia Jalosjos-Carreon, in a special election held on August 26 of that year.
While in prison, Jalosjos suffered a mild stroke in 2004 that led to him being hospitalized temporarily at the Makati Medical Center. He also financed the construction of several infrastructure in Bilibid such as a tennis court, a gymnasium, and a bakery inside the NBP's maximum security compound. He also financed the construction of the Tennis Academy of the Philippines and a resto-bar in neighboring Katarungan village, all of which he said, was derived from his continued earnings from his outside businesses. In 2011, he acknowledged that he had received special treatment from fellow inmates, stating that "there are angels, and there are [others] higher than angels", and that he did not believe in the insistence of a "democratization of sufferings".
Jalosjos maintained his innocence throughout his imprisonment and called his case an act of political persecution, specifically blaming officials in the administration of Fidel V. Ramos, who was president at the time he was charged and arrested for the rape, particularly Justice Secretary Teofisto Guingona Jr.
Jalosjos' sentence was commuted to 16 years by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on June 13, 2007, and was allowed to live in a privately owned house in Katarungan Village, which is part of Bilibid's reservation area. On December 22, Jalosjos, after receiving a discharge order from prison authorities, walked out of jail and flew to his native Dapitan, before turning himself in again to authorities the next day after Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez said that his departure from the prison was "unauthorized". Despite serving only 11 years in prison, he was finally released in 2009 after completing his reduced 16-year term, which officials attributed to benefits gained due to good behavior while in detention.

## Post-release

Jalosjos continues to be active in the private sector, particularly in the running of the Dakak beach resort and TAPE, Inc., where he has a 51% controlling stake augmented by his children's control of a combined total of 24% of the company.
In a 2021 interview, Jalosjos said that he was "proud" of himself being jailed, saying that "history is built with stories about great men who became great because he was jailed first" and citing examples such as Jose Rizal, Ferdinand Marcos, Ninoy Aquino and Nelson Mandela.

## Eat Bulaga! dispute

In March 2023, Jalosjos decided to retire Tony Tuviera as president and CEO of TAPE and replaced him with his son, Romeo Jalosjos Jr. He also named another son, Bullet Jalosjos, as the firm's chief finance officer (CFO), and his daughter Soraya Jalosjos as executive vice president for production. Tuviera's retirement and the differences of the Jalosjos children's management's style, along with their proposed changes to the show's format and salary cuts led to disputes with the show's long-time host trio TVJ and other staff, leading to their departure from TAPE to host Eat Bulaga! (initially renamed E.A.T. before reverting to its original title on January 6, 2024) independently on TV5 beginning in May.

## Personal life and family

Jalosjos was a former common-law husband of actress Nida Blanca. They had previously planned to marry in Hong Kong before calling it off. He is currently married to Lourna Pal, who is the mother of two of his four children. He has mostly been based in Dakak since his release.
Jalosjos started a political dynasty that has since dominated the politics of Zamboanga del Norte. His sister Rosalina Jalosjos serves as the governor of Zamboanga del Norte since 2022. Aside from Cecilia, another sibling, Cesar G. Jalosjos, served as congressman for the 3rd district of Zamboanga del Norte, while another brother, Dominador Jalosjos Jr., served as mayor of Dapitan. Jalosjos' children have also entered politics, with his sons Romeo Jalosjos Jr. and Seth Frederick Jalosjos who also served in the Congress and concurrently holding top management positions at TAPE, Inc., along with his daughter Soraya. Another daughter, Lana Jalosjos, served as mayor of Baliangao, Misamis Occidental, while another daughter, Sushmita, is the Liga ng mga Barangay president of Zamboanga del Norte.