Mar Roxas
Manuel "Mar" Araneta Roxas II (; born May 13, 1957) is a Filipino politician who served as a Senator of the Philippines. He is the grandson and namesake of former Philippine President Manuel Roxas. He served in the Cabinet of the Philippines as Secretary of the Interior and Local Government from 2012 to 2015. Previously, he was the Secretary of Trade and Industry from 2000 to 2003 and Secretary of Transportation and Communications from 2011 to 2012. He is the son of former Senator Gerry Roxas. After graduation from the University of Pennsylvania, Roxas worked as a banker in  New York, mobilizing venture capital funds for small and medium enterprises. He served as the Representative of the 1st District of Capiz from 1993 to 2000. His stint as congressman was cut short after he was appointed by President Joseph Estrada as Secretary of Trade and Industry. He resigned from the position at the height of the EDSA Revolution of 2001 and was later re-appointed by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in her new cabinet. He resigned again to run for a Senate seat in the 2004 election. Campaigning as "Mr. 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). Initially one of the leading candidates in the 2010 presidential election, he slid down to become a vice-presidential candidate in order to make way for fellow senator Benigno Aquino III, who won. Roxas was defeated by Makati mayor Jejomar Binay of PDP–Laban by a margin of 727,084 votes. He filed an electoral protest before the Supreme Court of the Philippines, with the Court sitting as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal. On June 7 , 2011, Roxas was appointed by President Aquino as Secretary of Transportation and Communications to replace outgoing secretary Jose de Jesus, and he took office on July 4, 2011. Afterwards, on August 31, 2012, President Aquino nominated him as Secretary of Interior and Local Government, replacing Jesse Robredo who died in a plane crash. Roxas was the standard-bearer of the Liberal Party for the 2016 presidential election. He was officially endorsed by President Aquino to continue the present administration's reforms, collectively dubbed "Daang Matuwid" ("straight path"), which he formally accepted on July 31, 2015. 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. After placing second in the election, Roxas conceded to Davao City mayor Rodrigo Duterte on May 10, 2016. On October 15, 2018, Roxas announced his return to politics after a 2-year hiatus, filing his Certificate of Candidacy the next day for Senator in the 2019 Philippine Senate election. He ranked 16th in that election and failed to secure a six-year term. Early life and background. Manuel "Mar" Araneta Roxas II was born on May 13, 1957, in Manila , Philippines, to Judy Araneta of Bago, Negros Occidental, and Gerardo Roxas (1924–1982) of Capiz. Roxas' father was a Senator (1963–1972) and he is one of the grandchildren of Manuel Roxas, the first President of the Third Philippine Republic (1946–48), and Trinidad de Leon. The couple married in 1955. He has two siblings namely Maria Lourdes or Ria, married to Augusto Ojeda and mother of three, and the late Congressman Gerardo "Dinggoy" Roxas, Jr. (1960–1993). After grade school and high school at the Ateneo de Manila University, Roxas attended the well-regarded Following the 1985 announcement by President Ferdinand Marcos of  a snap election, Roxas took leave of absence to join the presidential campaign of Corazon Aquino. In September 1986, President Corazon Aquino went to the United States. Roxas was one of those who organized a series of investment round-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 the Jollibee fast food restaurant chain. In the United  States, he participated in the first financing for Discovery Channel and Tri-Star Pictures. Congress. Roxas' younger brother, Dinggoy, who represented the 1st District of Capiz, died of colon cancer in 1993. At the age of 36, he decided to run in the special election to replace his brother in the seat and won. He later became Majority Leader of the House 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. Estrada cabinet. Roxas resigned from the House of Representatives following his appointment as Secretary of Trade and Industry under the Estrada administration in 2000, replacing Jose Pardo who was appointed Secretary of Finance. 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. He resigned the position in November, as Estrada was under fire due to allegations of corruption. Arroyo cabinet. In January 2001, just days after Estrada had been overthrown, Roxas was re-appointed to the same office by newly installed President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. During his four-year stint as DTI Secretary, he pushed for the development of the "palengke" (market) as the basic unit of the economy and the root of progress, advocating not only consumer welfare and protection but also sound trade and investment policies, particularly SME development. 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 2003 WTO meeting in Cancún, 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. At a time where 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. 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. He was named 'Father of the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO)' market in the Philippines, particularly call center operations, by industry stakeholders. From starting out with a mere 2000 jobs at the onset, the IT/BPO industry  now provides over a million jobs in the Philippines. 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. Senate. On December 10, 2003, Roxas resigned from his post to prepare for his senatorial bid under the banner of the Liberal Party in the 2004 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 by Cesar Purisima, former chairman of the accounting firm Sycip Gorres Velayo & Co. Upon winning a seat in the 2004 Senate election, Roxas was proclaimed by the Commission 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 alongside Ramon "Bong" Revilla, Jr. Roxas authored 43 bills and 46 resolutions  brought before the 13th Congress in July 2004 and 2007. He filed bills on fighting smuggling, supporting labor, education, economy, and alternative energy. On February 26, 2006, the Philippines was under a state emergency after the government claimed that it foiled an alleged "coup d'état" attempt against the administration of Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo earlier that same day. Two days later, Roxas called on the government to immediately revoke Proclamation No. 1017, saying it betrays its own vision of a strong republic and directly attack Philippine democracy. Roxas voted in favor of the Revised Value-Added Tax Law when  it was deliberated in the Senate. The law was co-authored by other Liberal Party members, Franklin Drilon and Francis Pangilinan. He also voted in favor of the abolition of the death penalty in the Philippines. Roxas voted against the Human Security Act together with Senator Jamby Madrigal saying that ""the fight against terror requires urgent operational reforms over measures that could impair civil 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. Roxas' legislative agenda for  the 14th 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. Lito Atienza, however, forthwith questioned Roxas' appointment, attacking the composition of Liberal Party's National Executive Council (NECO) and alleging that the Supreme 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?" Platform Senator Mar Roxas has taken positions on many national issues since his election as senator during the 2004 Philippine elections. About the ZTE deal, Roxas introduced a resolution urging President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to cancel the Philippine government's National Broadband Network (NBN) project with China's Zhong 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  with China. In order to finally put a just closure to national divisiveness, Roxas filed Senate Resolution No. 135 calling on President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to issue a pardon to former President Joseph Ejercito Estrada (popularly known as "Erap") at the appropriate time, in which he said: "The grant of pardon 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 the Sandiganbayan, but serves solely as an embodiment of the people's will for closure on one of the most divisive chapters of our  national life." Regarding the Japan–Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement, Roxas has said: "In trade negotiations, no deal is always better than a bad deal." He issued a warning after President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo pressed on the Senate to ratify the Japan-Philippine Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA) amid concerns aired by Tokyo 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. Aquino cabinet. After his election to the Senate in 2004, Roxas was immediately seen as a potential presidential candidate  in the 2010 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 Senator Benigno Aquino III declared him as the Liberal Party's nominee and Former Senator Jovito Salonga, Chairman Emeritus of the party, once introduced him as "the next President of the Philippine Republic." Senator Franklin Drilon had also confirmed  that Roxas was the party's standard bearer in the election. However, on September 1, 2009, at the historic Club Filipino, 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. On November 28, 2009, Aquino and Roxas filed their certificate of candidacy for President and Vice  President respectively. He was defeated by Makati mayor Jejomar Binay of the Partido 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 the Aquino-Binay campaign, which began when Senator Francis 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 an electoral protest to the Supreme Court of the Philippines at the Presidential  Electoral Tribunal. On July 12, 2010, the Supreme 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. Roxas also requested the Presidential Electoral Tribunal to order an independent forensic examination of the 26,000 compact flash cards and the source 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 . Roxas accepted the offer of Aquino to be appointed as Secretary of Transportation and Communications, replacing the outgoing Secretary Jose de Jesus, who had resigned earlier. He took office on June 30, 2011. His appointment was given unanimous consent by the Commission on Appointments on October 12, 2011. On August 31, 2012, President Aquino appointed him as Secretary of Interior and Local Government, replacing Jesse Robredo, who had died in a plane crash on the shores of Masbate Island thirteen days earlier. 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. 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." During his final flag ceremony at Camp Crame, Roxas bade goodbye to his colleagues and thanked the members of the Philippine 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. Presidential bid. Roxas is the Liberal Party's standard 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 President Benigno Aquino III in the presence of their political allies at the Club 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. On the same day, Roxas formally launched his campaign website. In a speech during which he paid tribute to his late grandfather, President Manuel Roxas, his late father, Senator Gerardo 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: 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. Personal life. Roxas was previously in a relationship with former beauty queen Maricar Zaldarriaga, with whom he has a son, Paolo Roxas. In 2002, he met Korina Sanchez, a news anchor from ABS-CBN. In the April 25, 2009, episode of the ABS-CBN noontime show "Wowowee" where Sanchez appeared as a guest co-host alongside Willie Revillame, Sanchez and Roxas announced their engagement. Sanchez  took a leave of absence from her duties at ABS-CBN in May 2009. They married on October 27, 2009, at a ceremony in Quezon 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. The Manila Philharmonic Orchestra and the Philippine Madrigal Singers provided the music during the wedding. Other notable performers included Basil Valdez, Robert Seña, and Jamie Rivera. The couple owns a black labrador retriever and two schnauzer dogs. As of 2014, he has a declared net worth of PHP 202.08  million. In 2019, they announced the arrival of their twins who were born through surrogacy named Pepe Ramon Gerardo Manuel Denzel and Pilar Judith Celia Ester Korina. Public image. Hoaxes and misinformation Roxas has been a frequent target of numerous hoaxes in social media, notably from rival political groups such as supporters of Rodrigo Duterte. These were mostly intended to mock his "Mr. 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. Another image shows a barong tagalog-clad Roxas on board an MRT train that, although not manipulated, was often misrepresented as a recent picture as of 2018. Most recently, a Facebook post on February 3, 2021 alleged that he was arrested by Makati police for possession of illegal drugs, which they denied.