Bataan Rep. Geraldine Roman receives int'l award for redefining governance

WATCH: Rep. Roman attributes Congress win to her socio-economic programs than her gender

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) — After breaking barriers as the first transgender woman elected to the Philippine Congress, Bataan Representative Geraldine Roman received an international award from U.S. magazine, "Foreign Policy."

The magazine recognized Roman as one of its 100 Leading Global Thinkers of 2016 — for being a "challenger for redefining fitness to govern" and for pushing for an anti-gender discrimination bill. That bill has languished in Congress for more than a decade.

Roman continues to lobby for the Anti-Discrimination Bill based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity. The bill seeks to prohibit certain discriminatory practices that harm members of the LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer) community.

Related: 5 things you should know about the Anti-Discrimination Bill

Under the award's "Challenger" category, Roman is joined by her fellow lawmaker Senator Leila De Lima for "standing up to an extremist leader," as she continues to fiercely criticize President Rodrigo Duterte's bloody war on drugs.

Roman and De Lima join the ranks of Germany Chancellor Angela Merkel, Canadian Prime Justin Trudeau, Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, U.N. Secterary Ban Ki-Moon, and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan, among others.

This is the eighth year of "Foreign Policy" to issue its annual Global Thinkers issue. Each year it selects the 100 Leading Global Thinkers whose contributions are changing minds and shaping the world.

"The Global Thinkers honored here are proof that, as a society's pillars falter, individuals step in to bear the weight. The honorees demonstrated how private citizens can ease the suffering of others. They subverted traditional power structures to craft solutions to social, economic, and environmental problems," the publication said on its website.