Rose Marie Arenas is a Manila socialite and former Philippine politician who served as Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives from 2018 to 2022. In the 1990s, she garnered public attention when reports emerged of a past intimate relationship with then-President Fidel Ramos. While Ramos did not deny the reports, the relationship had no visible impact on his presidency. Arenas later attempted to leverage her newfound fame into a political career, running for Senate in 1995 and the House of Representatives in 1998. She has also engaged in significant philanthropic work and helped bring Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti to perform in Manila.

1. 18th Congress of the
Philippines
Cong. Rose Marie Arenas

2. • Rose Marie "Baby" Bosch Jimenez Arenas (born December
10, 1940) is a Manila socialite who featured prominently in the
political scene of the Philippines in the 1990s. She was
relatively unknown until 1993, when the Philippine Daily
Inquirer reported that she had a past intimate relationship with
the then-Philippine President Fidel V. Ramos.[2] The scandal
grew when within days after the revelation, the Philippine
Securities and Exchange Commission ruled against the owners
of the Philippine Daily Inquirer in a dispute involving one-third of
the stock ownership of the newspaper. It was widely reported
that the adverse ruling came about due to presidential
displeasure over the report, although no concrete proof of such
ever emerged.
Rose Marie Arenas

3. • President Fidel Ramos never publicly acknowledged a past
relationship with Ms. Arenas, although neither did he emphatically
deny the report. The scandal, though widely reported at that time,
had no visible impact on the Ramos presidency, and quickly passed.
For her part, Ms. Arenas attempted to parlay her unexpected fame
into electoral victory, running for the Philippine Senate in 1995 and
for the House of Representatives in 1998.
• Ms. Arenas is also known for her considerable philanthropic efforts
and support for the arts. She famously convinced the
legendary Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti to perform in Manila for the
first time.
• Arenas' daughter, Rachel, was the incumbent representative
of Pangasinan's 3rd district. She was set to run unopposed in
the 2013 elections but gave way to her mother.[3]
• She is served as Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives of
the Philippines from 2018 to 2022.

4. • Arenas was born Rose Marie Bosch Jimenez in 1938 in
Malasiqui, Pangasinan. Her parents were Alfredo Jimenez, an
accountant at the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and a
member of a modestly rich family from Makati; and Remedios
Bosch, an opera singer and a music professor at the University
of the East (UE). Her father was known as the disciplinarian in
the family while her mother influenced her love for charity work,
culture, and the performing arts. Due in part to her well-
connected mother who sang in the prestigious opera galas in
Manila and abroad, Arenas was exposed early to Manila's high
society.
Early and Personal life

5. • Her strict upbringing resulted in an almost planned life during
her formative years. She took up piano and voice lessons when
she was a child; an obvious consequence of her mother's
profession and passion. In college, her father insisted that she
take up accountancy at the University of Santo Tomas (UST);
again, following the footsteps of her father. Throughout her
student years, she was not allowed to go out with friends, to
have a boyfriend, or to enjoy life the way other teenagers of her
time did. She led a life that had a very definite pattern – home-
school-home.

6. • Discipline was so stern in the young life of Arenas that it
was almost ironic that she was allowed by her parents
to become a professional model. For three years during
the 1960s, she modelled for some of the leading stores
and designers in the Philippines. She was even allowed
to join the Miss Philippines pageant– convincing her
parents that the proceeds of the event would go to
charity – and even became a finalist in the event.

7. • The choice of her husband was also the result of parental influence
in her personal life. After graduating from college, her parents
arranged her wedding to Ramon Arenas, a businessman engaged in
the shipping industry. Ramon's mother is the very wealthy Doña
Julieta Hofileña Lopez, sister to industrialist Don Eugenio Hofileña
Lopez (ex-owner of Meralco, Negros Navigation, ABS-CBN) and
former Vice President Fernando Lopez (owner of the University of
Iloilo). The López family of Iloilo were one of the wealthiest clans in
the Philippines. Although an adopted child, Doña Julieta was the only
daughter of Doña Presentacion Hofileña and as such was an equal
beneficiary of all the Lopez assets and haciendas when Doña
Presentacion and her husband died. As the favorite daughter-in-law
of Doña Julieta who inherited much of her own heirloom jewelry, this
may explain why Arenas is one of the very few females outside of
the tightly knit Lopez clan to own such select Philippine jewel sets.

8. • Although Baby and Ramon had five children
(John, Christopher, Ramoncito, Maria Rachel,
and Roberto), the two eventually separated and
she never married again.
• From her 3 Children, She received 10
grandchildren (Marga, John, Martin, Therese,
John Francis, Michael, Andrea, Sebastian,
Joaquin Alfonso, and Christopher jr.)

9. • Arenas is an effective businesswoman. Although she
was a Blue Lady of Imelda Marcos, much of her wealth
came before her association with the Philippine first
lady. From her husband Ramon she received numerous
houses in Forbes Park and Dasmariñas Village on top
of priceless jewelry and personal effects from her
mother-in-law. After 1986 and essentially on her own,
Arenas dabbled into supplying the Philippine Military
with footwear and other essentials, adding more to her
family's assets on her own stewardship.
Wealth