José E. Romero (born March 3, 1897) was a politician in the Philippines. From 1931, he served as a member of the Senate of the Philippines for the second district of Negros Oriental. When the National Assembly of the Philippines effectively replaced the Senate in 1935, he continued as an Assemblyman until 1941. After the war, he served in various government posts as Secretary of the Department of Education, Philippine Ambassador to the Court of St. James's in England, and chairman of the Rizal Centennial Commission.
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Romero was born 3 March 1897, one of three children born to Francisco Romero, Sr., a retainer of the Tabacalera in Bais, and Josefa Calumpang Muñoz, daughter of Tanjay gobernadorcillo Don Jose Teves Muñoz and Doña Paula Calumpang.[1] In 1922, Romero completed his higher education at Silliman Institute and the University of the Philippines with a Bachelor of Laws degree.[2] After the premature death of his first wife Pilar Guzman Sinco, he married Elisa Zuñiga Villanueva.
Romero was elected to the senate in 1931. In 1934, he became majority floor leader and delegate to the Constitutional Convention. In 1935, he became a member of the National Assembly during the Philippines' time as a Commonwealth. In 1939, Romero called for an indefinite suspension of the planned 1946 Philippine independence during a meeting convoked by then President Manuel L. Quezon to consider how best to secure the safety of the Philippines under the threat of World War II.[3] He completed his service in 1941.