Rose Marie Arenas is a Filipino socialite and politician who came to prominence in the 1990s due to her reported past relationship with then-President Fidel Ramos. Though Ramos never confirmed the relationship, the scandal had no lasting impact on his presidency. Arenas unsuccessfully ran for Senate and Congress afterwards. She served as Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives from 2018 to 2022. Arenas comes from a wealthy family and accumulated further wealth through her own business dealings, including supplying the military. She remains an influential figure in Philippine politics and society.

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

2. Rose Marie Arenas
• 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.

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.

4. • 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.

5. Early and Personal life
• 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.

6. • 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.

7. • 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.

8. • 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.

9. • 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.

10. • 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.)

11. Wealth
• 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 in Makati on
top of priceless jewelry (Ex. A Ruby and Diamond necklace from an
Indian maharaja) 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. She is assumed/speculated to be worth
in the billions of dollars.

12. References
1. Alvarez defends turncoats
2.^ Sen, Krishna; Stivens, Maila (1998). Gender and Power in
Affluent Asia. ISBN 9780415164726.
3.^ "Baby Arenas replaces daughter in Pangasinan congressional
race". GMA News Online. December 21, 2012.
Retrieved December 21, 2012.