Chito Santa Romana

Jose Santiago "Chito" Santa Romana (January 15, 1948 – April 19, 2022), was a Philippine journalist and diplomat who served as that country's ambassador to China.

Born in Manila, Romana was the grandson of Senator Santiago Lucero, for whom he was named. As a young man, Romana studied at De La Salle University and was active in the anti-government demonstrations known as the "First Quarter Storm". In 1971, as a student, he visited the People's Republic of China as the head of a Philippine youth delegation. However, during this period, the then Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos began to suppress the Philippine communists, and Romana was forced to stay in China. After that, Romana studied at the Beijing Language Institute (now Beijing Language and Culture University) and later became a translation editor.

In 1987, Romana went to the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University in the United States to pursue a master's degree in international relations. After graduation, due to the continued instability in the Philippines, Romana returned to China. From 1989 to 2010, Romana served as a long-term reporter for the American Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) in Beijing. In 2011, Romana returned to the Philippines after 40 years and joined the Philippine Rural Reconstruction Movement in 2012.

On September 28, 2016, Romana was appointed by President Rodrigo Duterte as the Philippine Ambassador to China, with concurrent accreditation to North Korea and Mongolia. Romana presented his credentials in March of the following year. He "played a key role in repairing once-tattered bilateral relations". On April 18, 2022, Romana died of illness during quarantine in Huangshan, Anhui Province while serving as the ambassador to China, at the age of 74. After his death, he was described as "an old friend of the Chinese people".