Transgender candidate poised to make history in Philippines

Published on 9 May 2016 11:43:38 AM

Geraldine Roman waves to supporters during a rally in her hometown in Bataan Province in the Philippines.

Roman is poised to become the country's first transgender Congresswoman if she wins Monday's election.

The 49-year old comes from a family of politicians. She's running for her mother's seat, in fact, who served the maximum of three terms.

The country's strong Catholic influence have helped keep divorce, abortion and same-sex marriage illegal.

Roman said at first her opponents were focused on her gender identity, but was pleased to discover that her constituents weren't.

Roman has been living as a woman for about 20 years and now lives with her male partner. She says she plans to continue her family's legacy of public service.