Wife and "partner" of former Senator and Secretary Raul S. Roco, they have six children; Bobbit, Ponjun, Pia, Neena, Ruarri and Nara; and four grandchildren, Nica, Reece, Samantha and Shania.

When she made her first bid for the Senate in 2007, she was adjudged by environmental groups as the "Greenest Senatorial Candidate" among 36 candidates thru the Green Electoral Initiative (GEI). GEI evaluates the candidate's views, stand and platform on various environmental issues.

Although she did not make it to the magic 12 in 2007, she maintains her trust in the Filipino electorate and the electoral system and is thankful for the 8.5 million voters who trusted her in 2007. Together with the youth, women and other sectors, she hopes to spread the seeds and continue the legacy of her late husband Raul S. Roco by making another Senate bid this 2010 under the Noynoy Aquino-Mar Roxas slate.

After due consultation with Aksyon Demokratiko , the national political party which she heads as Chairperson, and its sectoral partners from the youth and women, she led the party to be one of the first to entreat Noynoy Aquino to run as president for 2010. With her heart for the country firmly in place and with her unwavering belief in Aksyon’s principles, she knows that the country has the best chance for honest governance and principled leadership with Noynoy Aquino at the helm.

Sonia is the chairperson of the Raul Roco Foundation which actively organizes community and outreach projects. With her thrust of inspiring the youth, she sows the seeds through the annual Roco Youth Achievement Awards which has run for 3 years now and recognizes outstanding youth organizations and projects that pursues Roco’s ideals and aspirations for education, health and environment.
She is chairperson of the Metro Manila Community Orchestra (MMCO), St. Michael's Hospice Foundation, an active member of the Women in Nation-Building (WIN), was past president of the Senate Spouses Foundation where one of their special projects was helping the cause of the Philippine Foundation for the Rehabilitation of the Disabled (PFRD).

Born on July 20 to Congressman Pablo Malasarte and Petra Cubillo of Bohol, at a young age, she already exhibited the traits of a natural leader and was a consistent honor student.

She graduated from St. Joseph's College in Quezon City with a degree on Liberal Arts and a Bachelor of Science in Education, magna cum laude. She was awarded the Most Outstanding Student of the Philippines (MOSP) in 1964 and was a recipient of the Cardinal Santos Leadership Award because she was a leader of Student Catholic Action (SCA) and the National Union of Students of the Philippines (NUSP).

As a lover of Theater and the Arts, she trained in Speech and Drama in London and when she got back to the Philippines taught, acted, directed and produced musicals and plays.

She earned a masters degree in Communication Arts and in Social Psychology from the Ateneo de Manila University, then co-founded Our School, a center for Early Childhood Education of the Ateneo Psychology Department. She took up courses at the Child Development Center of the University of the Philippines.

Knowing the value of continuing education and training, Sonia finished courses in Basic Management and Development at the Asian Institute of Management. She applied her education and management backgrounds when she established the Live and Learn Preschool at Loyola.

Sonia also became familiar to many Filipinos when, with faith and prayer, she survived the 1990 Baguio earthquake. She was attending an NGO seminar at the Hotel Nevada when the powerful tremors caused the hotel to collapse. The two-day effort of Benguet coal miners and PMA cadets-Charlie Company to rescue those trapped in the hotel became a tale of courage, unity and faith.

Together with her husband Raul, the Rocos were bestowed the Golden Parents' Award for 1995 by the Golden Mother and Father Foundation, Inc. and is presently working for the revival of the Student Catholic Action Leadership Program for the Youth.