Juliette Gomez-Romualdez, the widow of late Leyte Gov. Benjamin "Kokoy" Romualdez and mother of Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez, has returned to the Forbes Philippines' 50 Richest list after a five-year absence.

Forbes released its annual ranking on Thursday, marking Romualdez's reappearance after she dropped off the list from 2020 through 2025. She previously ranked 35th on the list in 2012.

According to Forbes, Romualdez's wealth largely stems from the 2012 sale of a minority stake in BDO Unibank, formerly Banco de Oro. She also retains a stake in Benguet Corp., the country's oldest mining company.

Romualdez is the widow of Benjamin "Kokoy" Romualdez, a former Leyte governor and the younger brother of former First Lady Imelda Marcos. Her son, Martin Romualdez, currently serves as representative of Leyte's 1st District and was House speaker during the 19th Congress.

Her return to the Forbes list comes months after the Sandiganbayan dismissed the government's attempt to revive a civil forfeiture case involving more than $5.19 million in Swiss bank funds belonging to the late Benjamin Romualdez and Juliette Romualdez.

In March, the anti-graft court's Sixth Division ruled that it could not overturn an earlier Fourth Division resolution ordering the release of the escrowed funds to the Romualdez heirs, citing the doctrine of non-interference among co-equal divisions. The Office of the Solicitor General had sought to revive the forfeiture proceedings, arguing the funds constituted unexplained wealth, but the court held that any challenge should instead be brought before the Supreme Court. The government has since elevated the matter to the high court.

The Fourth Division had earlier ruled that the government's years-long inaction after the dismissal of the original forfeiture case in 2018 amounted to an abandonment of its claim over the funds.

Forbes compiles its annual Philippines' 50 Richest ranking using publicly available shareholdings, financial disclosures, stock prices and information obtained from companies, analysts and the individuals themselves. Net worth estimates for this year's list were based on share prices and exchange rates as of the market close in July.