Billionaire businessman and former lawmaker Deputy Speaker Michael “Mikee” L. Romero, PhD has been honored with the 2025 Philippine Choice Award for Outstanding Humanitarian and Community Service for nearly a decade of outreach efforts bringing healthcare, education, and relief to marginalized Filipino communities.

Known as a “people’s lawmaker,” Romero has led nationwide programs from Batanes to Tawi-Tawi, offering medical and dental missions, free medicines, and equipment donations to remote areas including Zamboanga, Sarangani, Dinagat, and Tawi-Tawi’s frontier islands. His initiatives also reached the Visayas, benefiting thousands through health services in Cebu, Tacloban, Iloilo, and Bohol.

A strong advocate of education, Romero rebuilt fire-hit schools in Batanes, rehabilitated classrooms in North Cotabato, and provided scholarships and school supplies to underprivileged students. On Pag-asa Island, he delivered food packs, toys, and learning kits to children and fisherfolk families.

During disasters, Romero’s teams responded swiftly—aiding fire victims in Cavite and Laguna and flood-stricken families in Bulacan and Pampanga.

Though his congressional term ended in 2025, Romero continues his humanitarian work with hospitals, schools, and local governments.

“Service to the poor and forgotten is the highest honor anyone can have,” Romero said.