MANILA - Bataan Representative Geraldine Roman on Wednesday said "only time can tell" if she will seek a Senate seat in the 2019 elections, after Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez's pronouncement that she will be among the candidates in the PDP-Laban slate.

“I feel honored that I should be considered by the speaker, considering I am just a neophyte, but only time could tell. In this life, we should not close ourselves to the range of possibilities and opportunities that come our way," she told ANC's Headstart.

Roman, the country's first transgender lawmaker, said Alvarez asked her if she would consider running for the Senate. She said she has to study the proposal as she wants to work hard in her district.

With Alvarez's urging, she said she would usually join the party's basic membership seminars and oath-taking of new members. Roman said she was surprised at the warm reception she received from the people thus far.

"I am pleasantly surprised. I feel touched kasi Filipinos are kind. They have a soft spot for people who are normally discriminated against," she said.

"The people of the first district of Bataan did not mind me as their congresswoman. What has gender got to do with one’s ability to serve our country?" she added.

Alvarez earlier announced that along with Roman, Communications Assistant Secretary Margaux "Mocha" Uson and Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque were among those who will seek a 2019 senatorial seat under the ruling party.

• Mocha Uson, Harry Roque running for Senator in 2019: Alvarez

But the PDP-Laban president, Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III, said the party has yet to decide on its official senatorial lineup.