Mar Roxas | |
|---|---|
 Roxas in 2014 | |
| 37thSecretary of the Interior and Local Government | |
| In office September 19, 2012 – September 11, 2015 | |
| President | Benigno Aquino III |
| Preceded by | Paquito Ochoa Jr. (acting) |
| Succeeded by | Mel Senen Sarmiento |
| 38thSecretary of Transportation and Communications | |
| In office July 4, 2011 – October 18, 2012 | |
| President | Benigno Aquino III |
| Preceded by | Jose de Jesus |
| Succeeded by | Jun Abaya |
| Senator of the Philippines | |
| In office June 30, 2004 – June 30, 2010 | |
| 30thSecretary of Trade and Industry | |
| In office January 2, 2000 – December 10, 2003 | |
| President | Joseph Estrada Gloria Macapagal Arroyo |
| Preceded by | Jose Pardo |
| Succeeded by | Cesar Purisima |
| House Majority Leader | |
| In office July 27, 1998 – January 2, 2000 | |
| Preceded by | Rodolfo Albano |
| Succeeded by | Eduardo Gullas |
| Member of thePhilippine House of Representatives fromCapiz's 1st district | |
| In office September 1, 1993 – January 2, 2000 | |
| Preceded by | Gerardo Roxas Jr. |
| Succeeded by | Rodriguez Dadivas |
| 14th President of theLiberal Party | |
| In office November 6, 2007 – September 30, 2012 | |
| Preceded by | Franklin Drilon |
| Succeeded by | Jun Abaya |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Manuel Araneta Roxas II (1957-05-13)May 13, 1957 (age 68) Manila, Philippines |
| Party | Liberal (1993–present) One Capiz (local party; 2024–present) |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3 |
| Parent(s) | Gerry Roxas Judy Araneta |
| Alma mater | Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania (BS) |
| Signature |  |
| Website | Official website |
Manuel "Mar"Araneta Roxas II (Tagalog:[ˈɾɔhas]; born May 13, 1957) is a Filipino politician who served as asenator of the Philippines from 2004 to 2010. He is the grandson and namesake of formerPhilippine PresidentManuel Roxas. He served in theCabinet of the Philippines as the 37thsecretary of the interior and local government from 2012 to 2015 after serving as the 30thsecretary of trade and industry from 2000 to 2003 and 38thsecretary of transportation and communications from 2011 to 2012. He is the son of former senatorGerry Roxas.
After graduation from theUniversity of Pennsylvania, Roxas worked as a banker in New York, mobilizing venture capital funds forsmall and medium enterprises. He served as theRepresentative of theCapiz's first district from 1993 to 2000. His stint as congressman was cut short after he was appointed by PresidentJoseph Estrada as Secretary of Trade and Industry.[1] He resigned from the position at the height of theSecond EDSA Revolution and was later re-appointed by PresidentGloria Macapagal Arroyo in her new cabinet.[2] He resigned again to run for a Senate seat in the2004 election.[3] Campaigning asMr. Palengke, he was elected senator with 19 million votes, the highest ever garnered by a national candidate in any Philippine election at that time. Roxas co-authored the Expanded Value Added Tax Law (E-Vat).[4]
Initially one of the leading candidates in the2010 presidential election, he slid down to become a vice-presidential candidate in order to make way for fellow senatorBenigno Aquino III, who won. Roxas was defeated byMakati mayorJejomar Binay ofPDP–Laban by a margin of 727,084 votes. He filed anelectoral protest before theSupreme Court of the Philippines, with the Court sitting as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal.[5] On June 7, 2011, President Aquino appointed Roxas as transportation and communications secretary to replace outgoing secretaryJose de Jesus, and he took office on July 4, 2011.[6] Afterwards, on August 31, 2012, President Aquino nominated him as interior and local government secretary, replacingJesse Robredo, who died in aplane crash.
Roxas was the standard-bearer of theLiberal Party for the2016 presidential election. He was officially endorsed by President Aquino to continue the present administration's reforms, collectively dubbedDaang Matuwid ("straight path"), which heformally accepted on July 31, 2015.[7][8][9] On August 3, 2015, Roxas officially tendered his resignation as interior and local government secretary to focus on his presidential campaign. After placing second in the election, Roxas conceded toDavao City mayorRodrigo Duterte on May 10, 2016.[10] He would later attempt a comeback to the Senate in2019, but lost.
Manuel Araneta Roxas II was born on May 13, 1957, in Manila to Judy Araneta (1934–2025;[11] ofBago, Negros Occidental) andGerry Roxas (1923–1982; ofCapiz), a Representative for Capiz (1957–1963) and aSenator (1963–1972).
Mar is one of the grandchildren ofManuel Roxas, the firstPresident of theThird Philippine Republic (1946–48), andTrinidad de Leon. The couple married in 1955.[12] He has two siblings: Maria Lourdes (married to Augusto Ojeda and mother of three) andGerardo Jr. (1960–1993), a former congressman.[13]
After grade school and high school at theAteneo de Manila University, Roxas attended theWharton School of the University of Pennsylvania inPhiladelphia,[14][15][16] majoring inEconomics and earning aBachelor of Science degree in 1979.[17][18][19] After graduation, he worked for seven years as aninvestment banker inNew York City, and became an assistant vice president of theNew York-basedAllen & Company.[20]
Following the 1985 announcement by PresidentFerdinand Marcos of asnap election, Roxas took aleave of absence to join the presidential campaign ofCorazon Aquino. In September 1986, PresidentCorazon Aquino went to the United States. Roxas was one of those who organized a series of investmentround-table discussions with the American business community.
From 1986 onwards, Roxas visited the Philippines more frequently and proposed to Allen & Company to set up a branch in Asia, specifically in the Philippines; later his superiors agreed. In 1991, he was stationed in the Philippines with North Star Capitals, Inc. which took public theJollibee fast food restaurant chain. In the United States, he participated in the first financing forDiscovery Channel andTri-Star Pictures.[21]
Roxas' younger brother, Dinggoy, who represented theCapiz's first district, died ofcolon cancer in 1993. At the age of 36, he decided to runin the special election to replace his brother in the seat and won, having been unopposed.[21] He later became Majority Leader of theHouse of Representatives.
His landmark laws include, among others:
His tenure in the House was most noted for his principal authorship of Republic Act No. 7880 (Roxas Law), which ensures fair distribution of the education capital budget among all the provinces. This started his advocacy for fair and equitable access to education, free from regional bias and political patronage considerations.[22]
Roxas resigned from the House of Representatives following his appointment asSecretary of Trade and Industry under theEstrada administration in 2000, replacing Jose Pardo who was appointedSecretary of Finance.[23] During his stint, Roxas was named as Chairman of the Information Technology and Electronic Commerce Council, a body formed with the participation of both the government and private sector to monitor the implementation of the E-Commerce Law (Republic Act 8792) and programs pushing for the growth of IT-enabled services.[24][25] He resigned the position in November, as Estrada was under fire due toallegations of corruption.[26]
In January 2001, just days after Estradahad been overthrown, Roxas was re-appointed to the same office by newly installed PresidentGloria Macapagal Arroyo.[1]
During his four-year stint as DTI Secretary, he pushed for the development of thepalengke (market) as the basic unit of the economy and the root of progress, advocating not onlyconsumer welfare andprotection but also sound trade and investment policies, particularlySME development.[22]
As a proponent of the philosophy of 'palengkenomics', which considers the "palengke" (wet market) as a microcosm of the economy, Roxas conducted weekly monitoring of the prices of prime commodities.
Among his projects were the following palengke-based programs which promoted supply chain efficiencies:
His work regarding trade policy was highlighted during the 2003WTO meeting inCancún,Mexico, where he fought for increased market access for Philippine exports, particularly agricultural products and a rationalized Philippine trade regime so that domestic industries would not be harmed.[27]
At a time when computer access was limited to an elite few, Roxas initiated the Personal Computers for Public Schools (PCPS) Program, which distributed over 44,240 desktop computers to 3,428 public high schools all over the Philippines. PCPS computers provided 500,000 high school students with the necessary ICT tools and skills.[27][non-primary source needed]
Roxas pushed for MSME development through the SULONG (SMEs Unified Lending Opportunities for National Growth) Program, which granted almost ₱26.7 billion on low-interest loans to 281,229 SMEs on its first year.[27]
He was named 'Father of the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO)' market in the Philippines, particularly call center operations, by industry stakeholders.[28] From starting out with a mere 2000 jobs at the onset, the IT/BPO industry now provides over a million jobs in the Philippines.[29]
In the year 2000, Roxas was named Chairman of the Information Technology and Electronic Commerce Council. This institution, which was composed of members of the government and the private sector, was formed to monitor the implementation of the E-Commerce Law (Republic Act 8792) and programs pushing for the growth of IT-enabled services.[30][31]
On December 10, 2003, Roxas resigned from his post to prepare for his senatorial bid under the banner of theLiberal Party in the2004 elections. Roxas said that he needed to separate his work in DTI from his work as a candidate and added that his resignation did not surprise the President. He was succeeded byCesar Purisima, former chairman of the accounting firmSycip Gorres Velayo & Co.[32]
Upon winning a seat in the 2004 Senate election, Roxas was proclaimed by theCommission on Elections as Senator-elect on May 24, 2004, and officially assumed the office at noon of June 30, 2004.
Roxas held assignments on the Senate Committee on Trade and Commerce and Senate Oversight Committee on Optical Media Board serving alongsideRamon "Bong" Revilla, Jr.
Roxas authored 43 bills and 46 resolutions brought before the13th Congress in July 2004 and 2007. He filed bills on fightingsmuggling, supportinglabor,education,economy, andalternative energy.
On February 26, 2006, the Philippines was under astate emergency after thegovernment claimed that it foiled an allegedcoup d'état attempt against the administration of Philippine PresidentGloria Macapagal Arroyo earlier that same day. Two days later, Roxas called on the government to immediately revokeProclamation No. 1017, saying it betrays its own vision of a strong republic and directly attack Philippine democracy.[33]
Roxas voted in favor of the Revised Value-Added Tax Law when it was deliberated in the Senate.[34] The law was co-authored by otherLiberal Party members,Franklin Drilon andFrancis Pangilinan. He also voted in favor of the abolition of thedeath penalty in the Philippines.[35]
Roxas voted against theHuman Security Act together with SenatorJamby Madrigal saying that "the fight against terror requires urgent operational reforms over measures that could impaircivil liberties". He even warned that the said law poses a danger to the security and rights of every Filipino if there will be no set of implementing rules and regulations laid down.[36]
Roxas' legislative agenda for the14th Congress is as follows:
On November 26, 2007, LP National Executive Council officials resolved to appoint him as president of the Liberal Party.
Roxas was to unite the two LP factions and set the stage for his presidential campaign in the 2010 election.[48]Lito Atienza, however, forthwith questioned Roxas' appointment, attacking the composition of Liberal Party's National Executive Council (NECO) and alleging that theSupreme Court of the Philippines' June 5 resolution ordered the LP leadership's status quo maintenance. Atienza stated: "I have no invitation. They kicked me out of the meeting; How can you (Roxas) unite the party when you take the wrong step?"[49]
Platform
Senator Mar Roxas has taken positions on many national issues since his election as senator during the2004 Philippine elections.
About the ZTE deal, Roxas introduced a resolution urging PresidentGloria Macapagal Arroyo to cancel the Philippine government's National Broadband Network (NBN) project with China'sZhong Xing Telecommunications Equipment (ZTE) Corporation.
Roxas said that the $329.4-million deal "was driven by supply and not by demand" and will not benefit Filipinos. He believes that the cancellation of the deal would not affect the relationship of the Philippines withChina.[50]
In order to finally put a just closure to national divisiveness, Roxas filed Senate Resolution No. 135 calling on PresidentGloria Macapagal Arroyo to issue apardon to former PresidentJoseph Ejercito Estrada (popularly known as "Erap") at the appropriate time, in which he said: "The grant ofpardon to Erap on humanitarian grounds should not in any way be construed as condoning corruption, or as diminishing the legal weight of the ruling of theSandiganbayan, but serves solely as an embodiment of the people's will for closure on one of the most divisive chapters of our national life."[51]
Regarding theJapan–Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement, Roxas has said: "In trade negotiations, no deal is always better than a bad deal."[52]
He issued a warning after PresidentGloria Macapagal Arroyo pressed on theSenate to ratify the Japan-Philippine Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA) amid concerns aired byTokyo for the early approval.
Roxas was optimistic that the pact would be given serious consideration by the Senate if the government revised the deal to get a better trade-off.[53]
After his election to the Senate in 2004, Roxas was immediately seen as a potential presidential candidate in the2010 presidential election. While Roxas himself was coy on his plans, the Mar Roxas for President movement gathered steam with the Liberal Party targeting the youth in the run-up to the election. Other signs included the sprouting of Mar Roxas for President spots on the internet and his colleagues endorsing him as the party's standard bearer. Then SenatorBenigno Aquino III declared him as the Liberal Party'snominee and Former SenatorJovito Salonga, Chairman Emeritus of the party, once introduced him as "the next President of the Philippine Republic."[54] SenatorFranklin Drilon had also confirmed that Roxas was the party's standard bearer in the election.[55]
ButRoxas' campaign did not perform well on surveys, typically placing 4th to 5.[56] However, on September 1, 2009, at the historic Club Filipino inSan Juan, Metro Manila, Roxas delivered a speech at a press conference announcing his decision to withdraw from the race and support the candidacy of Aquino for the presidency. Aquino officially launched his campaign eight days later. On September 21, 2009, Roxas, alongside Aquino, officially announced his candidacy for the vice presidency as the nominee of the Liberal Party for vice president, launching the Aquino-Roxas campaign.[57][58] On November 28, 2009, Aquino and Roxas filed their certificate of candidacy forPresident andVice President respectively.
He was defeated byMakati mayorJejomar Binay of thePartido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP–Laban) by the narrowest margin in the history of the Fifth Republic. Binay's upset victory over Roxas was attributed to the success of theAquino-Binay campaign, which began when SenatorFrancis Escudero endorsed Aquino and Binay as president and Vice President respectively. This was done without the consent of the two candidates, especially since Escudero, Binay, and Aquino all came from different political parties. Roxas filed anelectoral protest to theSupreme Court of the Philippines at the Presidential Electoral Tribunal. On July 12, 2010, theSupreme Court after reviewing Roxas'electoral protest, declared it sufficient in form and substance and the Presidential Electoral Tribunal sent summons to Vice President Binay to file a comment within 10 days upon receipt of the summons.[59]
Roxas also requested the Presidential Electoral Tribunal to order an independent forensic examination of the 26,000compact flash cards and thesource code of the PCOS machines used in the 2010 elections. As of August 2015, the case remains in pre-trial stage, with the last action taken by the tribunal dating back to December 2012.[60]
Roxas accepted the offer of Aquino to be appointed asSecretary of Transportation and Communications, replacing the outgoing SecretaryJose de Jesus, who had resigned earlier. He took office on June 30, 2011.[6] His appointment was givenunanimous consent by theCommission on Appointments on October 12, 2011.[61]
On August 31, 2012, President Aquino appointed him asSecretary of the Interior and Local Government, replacingJesse Robredo, who had died in aplane crash on the shores ofMasbate Island thirteen days earlier.[62] It was Roxas who announced the death of Robredo and confirmed that the rescue operations for the two pilots, Captain Jessup Bahinting and Nepalese flight student Kshitiz Chand, had been turned into a retrieval operation.[63]
On August 3, 2015, Roxas officially tendered his resignation as Secretary of the Interior and Local Government in order to focus on his presidential campaign. In his resignation letter to President Aquino, he once again thanked him for his endorsement and vowed to "begin the process of turning over in an orderly manner all the matters pending in my office."[64] During his final flag ceremony atCamp Crame, Roxas bade goodbye to his colleagues and thanked the members of thePhilippine National Police. "It has been my pleasure and a great honor to serve with you I give you my snappy salute", he told police officials present.[65]
Roxas is theLiberal Party'sstandard bearer in the 2016 presidential election. On July 31, 2015, at an event dubbed as "A Gathering of Friends", Roxas formally accepted his party's nomination after he was officially endorsed by PresidentBenigno Aquino III in the presence of their political allies at theClub Filipino, where Roxas had announced his decision to withdraw from the 2010 presidential election and give way to Aquino's presidential bid. Aquino also announced his candidacy there on September 9, 2009. In an emotional speech, Roxas declared that he would not deviate from the "straight path" initiated by Aquino in the fight against poverty and corruption.[7][8][9] On the same day, Roxas formally launched his campaign website.
In a speech during which he paid tribute to his late grandfather, PresidentManuel Roxas, his late father, SenatorGerardo Roxas and late brother, Rep.Dinggoy Roxas, Roxas declared that he would not betray the reforms initiated by the Aquino administration and vowed to continue Aquino's "Daang Matuwid" agenda:
I believe that this is not just about me or PNoy. The "Daang Matuwid" is about the dreams of every Filipino. As the President said: It is worth fighting for. It is worth sacrificing for, and dying for if need be. The Straight Path transcends me and PNoy; it is a Filipino ideal that has been there long before we were born, and will remain long after we are gone. History is challenging us to live up to these principles; to continue on this journey; to fight for our dreams as a nation.Mr. President, during your SONA on Monday, you said, "This is only the beginning; it is only the beginning of the great story of the Filipino people." Today, with all my sincerity, with all my will and with all my strength, I am answering the call of the "Daang Matuwid". We will fight on. I am Mar Roxas and I accept the challenge of our Bosses: to continue, expand and fight for the "Daang Matuwid".[66]
As confetti filled the Cory Aquino Kalayaan Hall and singer-songwriter Noel Cabangon sang "Dapat Ang Pangulo", the official song of the campaign, Aquino raised Roxas' hand after the speech as a sign of complete support for his campaign.[67]
On October 15, 2018, Roxas announced his return to politics after a two-year hiatus, filing his Certificate of Candidacy the next day for Senator in the2019 Philippine Senate election.[68][69] He was named to theOtso Diretso opposition coalition. However, he ranked 16th in that election and failed to secure a six-year term.
In an interview withSa Totoo Lang onOne PH on August 26, 2021, Roxas stated that he is retired from politics, saying that he does not have communications with the 1Sambayan opposition coalition.[70] He would later endorse the unsuccessfulpresidential bid of his 2016 running mate, Vice PresidentLeni Robredo, in the2022 elections.[71]
On April 15, 2023, Roxas appeared on the commemoration of his grandfatherManuel Roxas’ 75th death anniversary inRoxas City, wherein he also met with Vice PresidentSara Duterte and former President and incumbent Pampanga RepresentativeGloria Macapagal Arroyo.[72][73] On October 6, 2023, Roxas was spotted meeting with PresidentBongbong Marcos during a distribution of smuggled rice to beneficiaries in Roxas City. Marcos stated in his speech that they remained friends despite their political differences, noting that their friendship began during their time in New York.[74] In September 2024, Roxas was named as the head of the advisory council of the newly launchedOne Capiz local political party.[75]
Roxas was previously in a relationship with former beauty queen Maricar Zaldarriaga, with whom he has a son, Paolo Gerardo.[20] Paolo ran for representative ofCapiz's 1st congressional district in the2025 elections, but lost to then-incumbentPinuno Partylist representative Howard Guintu.[76]
In 2002, he metKorina Sanchez, a news anchor fromABS-CBN.[77] In the April 25, 2009, episode of the ABS-CBN noontime showWowowee where Sanchez appeared as a guest co-host alongsideWillie Revillame, Sanchez and Roxas announced their engagement.[78][79] Sanchez took a leave of absence from her duties at ABS-CBN in May 2009.[80] They married on October 27, 2009, at a ceremony atSanto Domingo Church inQuezon City, where Roxas' former running mate in the 2010 election, then-Senator (later President)Benigno Aquino III, was one of the couple's primary wedding sponsors. TheManila Philharmonic Orchestra and thePhilippine Madrigal Singers provided the music during the wedding. Other notable performers includedBasil Valdez, Robert Seña, andJamie Rivera.[81] The couple owns a blacklabrador retriever and twoschnauzer dogs.[20]
As of 2014, he has a declared net worth of₱202.08 million.[20]
In 2019, they announced the birth of their twins throughsurrogacy named Pepe Ramon Gerardo Manuel Denzel and Pilar Judith Celia Ester Korina.[82][83]
Roxas has been a frequent target of numerous hoaxes in social media, notably from rival political groups such assupporters of Rodrigo Duterte. These were mostly intended to mock hisMr. Palengke image, which has been increasingly viewed as insincere due to his wealthy background. A notable incident is an image presenting Roxas holding a plate, supposedly to collect drink water from a water pump, which was circulated as early as 2015. The image became viral ahead of both elections in 2016 and 2019.[84]
Another image shows abarong tagalog-clad Roxas on board anMRT train that, although not manipulated, was often misrepresented as a recent picture as of 2018.[84]
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