His father Felipe (Philip), dropped out of school in the fifth grade, and became a Filipino agricultural laborer who emigrated from the Philippines in 1929.

His mother Evangeline, a Mexican American, was born in El Paso, Texas met his father, in 1951.

After high school he was admitted to Santa Clara University where he participated in the Army ROTC program and graduate in 1977 earning a B.S.

[12] On December 2, 2020, President Donald Trump nominated Regua to be the next Representative of the United States to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

[13] On January 3, 2021, his nomination was returned to the President under Rule XXXI, Paragraph 6 of the United States Senate.