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Mar Roxas
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| The Honourable Manuel Roxas II |
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| Assumed office June 30, 2004 |
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Secretary of Trade and Industry
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| In office January 2, 2000 – December 9, 2003 |
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| In office June 30, 1992 – January 2, 2000 |
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| Born | May 13, 1957 Quezon City, Philippines |
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| Nationality | Filipino |
| Political party | Liberal Party (1992–) |
| Spouse | Single |
| Residence | Roxas City, Capiz and Makati City |
| Alma mater | Ateneo de Manila University, University of Pennsylvania |
| Occupation | Economist |
| Profession | Politician |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
| Website | www.marroxas.com |
Manuel "Mar" Araneta Roxas II (born May 13, 1957) is a senator of the Philippines. He is the grandson of former Philippine President Manuel Roxas, and the son of former Senator Gerry Roxas. He has Spanish, Mexican, and Chinese blood: he is a descendant of Basque-Spanish settler in the Philippines Antonio de Ayala, Domingo Roxas, and Mexican settler in the Philippines Antonio Fernandez de Roxas and Acuñas have Chinese blood.
Roxas was born in Quezon City in Metro Manila. He attended Ateneo de Manila University for elementary and high school education, then earned a degree in economics from Wharton School of Economics at the University of Pennsylvania in the United States.
In the 2004 Philippine election, Mar Roxas ran for senator and garnered the highest number of votes. His total of 19,372,888 votes was the highest ever garnered by a national candidate in any Philippine election.
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He graduated elementary at Ateneo de Manila Grade School in 1970, high school at Ateneo de Manila High School in 1974 and the Wharton School of Economics at the University of Pennsylvania in 1979. Before entering public service, he worked as an investment banker, mobilizing venture capital funds for small and medium enterprises.[1]
Mar Roxas is currently in a relationship with Korina Sanchez, one of the Philippines' most popular and critically acclaimed broadcasters from ABS-CBN.
Roxas joined the government in 1993 as a Congressman representing the 1st District of Capiz. He later became Majority Leader of the House of Representatives.
As congressman, he espoused consumer protection, underscoring the right of every Filipino to affordable medicines, as his personal advocacy. His landmark laws include, among others:
- RA 8759 - establishing in all municipalities a Public Employment Service Office which serves as employment facilitation and information center, and links all job opportunities within the region;
- RA 8748 - amending the Special Economic Zone Act by directly allocating to the municipality or city 2% (out of the 5%) gross tax to be collected from the establishments operating in the ecozone and providing for disturbance compensation for persons to be displaced or evicted by publicly-owned ecozones;
- RA 8756 - incentivizing the establishment of regional headquarters to encourage investment and operation of multinational companies in the country and to generate more jobs.
His tenure in the House was most noted for his principal authorship of RA 7880, also known as the 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.[2]
In 2000, Roxas served as Trade and Industry Secretary after he was appointed by President Joseph Ejercito-Estrada. 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.[2]
He intensified his commitment to quality education through the Personal Computers for Public Schools (PCPS) Program, which distributed over 30,000 computers to 2,000 public high schools all over the Philippines. PCPS computers provided some 500,000 high school students with the necessary ICT tools and skills.[3]
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.[3]
Hailed as the 'Father of the Call Center and Business Process Outsourcing Industries', he saw and harnessed the potential of the Philippines as a global e-services hub. He launched 'Make IT Philippines' and organized the first IT-enabled services (ITES) to the US which led to the biggest global industry names to invest in the Philippines. He pioneered the establishment of high-technology industry centers and the promotion of the business process outsourcing (BPO) market in the Philippines, particularly call center operations. From a mere 2000 jobs at the onset, the BPO industry now provides hundreds of thousands of jobs, thereby putting the Philippines on the map as a major IT/BPO destination.[3]
He worked for the reopening of the National Steel Corporation which provided thousands of jobs, income and livelihood to Iligan City, Northern Mindanao and adjacent regions. He also launched the Garment Export Industry Transformation Plan and Assistance Package to enhance the competitiveness of the industry and ensure its viability and vibrancy beyond 2004. Moreover, he initiated the Motor/Vehicle Development Program to promote exports, create a viable market base for our car manufacturers and secure jobs for our workers.[3]
Believing that micro, small and medium enterprises or MSMEs serve as the prime engine for job generation, he pushed for MSME development through the SULONG (SMEs Unified Lending Opportunities for National Growth) Program, which granted almost P26.7 billion on low-interest loans to 281,229 SMEs on its first year.[3]
He promoted the Tamang Timbang, Tamang Presyo (Right Scale, Right Price) program for consumers; the Presyong Tama, Gamot Pampamilya (Right Price, Family Medicine) to make affordable and quality medicines accessible to Filipinos, and Pinoy Pandesal, Palengke ng Bayan, among others. These programs promoted supply chain efficiencies leading to growth and productivity, and a wide range of opportunities and long-term gains.[3]
Being the proponent of the philosophy of 'palengkenomics', which considers the "palengke" (market) as the economy's weathervane and the mirror by which its over-all health can be seen and measured, Roxas to this day continues to conduct weekly monitoring of the prices of prime commodities and maintains strong linkages with suppliers, traders, and vendors in the different wet markets.[3]
After he garnered the highest votes in the Philippine election history when he ran as Senator, many people had already made him a potential presidential candidate by 2010. While he has been coy on his plans for 2010, the Mar Roxas for president in 2010 movement has been gathering steam with the Liberal Party revival targeting the youth (considering that the bulk of the voting population is aged below 30 years old). Other signs include the sprouting of Mar Roxas for president spots in cyberspace (http://marroxas2010.blogspot.com and http://liberalpresident2010.blogspot.com); and his colleagues endorsing him as the party's standard bearer -- Senator Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III declaring him Liberal Party's candidate for 2010 and Liberal Party's chair emeritus Jovito Salonga introducing him as "the next president of the Philippine republic."[4]
On November 26, 2007, at Club Filipino, Greenhills, San Juan, LP National Executive Council officials resolved to appoint Manuel "Mar" Roxas II as president of the Liberal Party (Philippines). Corazon Aquino and Jovito Salonga, inter alia, signed the resolution. Roxas is to unite the two LP factions, and set the stage for his presidential campaign in the 2010 election.[5] Lito Atienza, however, forthwith questioned Roxas II's appointment, attacking the composition of Liberal Party’s National Executive Council (NECO) and alleged 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?”[6]
- See also: Political positions of Mar Roxas
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. The senator also said the cancellation of the deal would not affect the relationship of the Philippines with China.[7]
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.
"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," he added.[8]
"In trade negotiations, no deal is always better than a bad deal." This is what Roxas said on JPEPA.[9]
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.[10]
- ^ Personal Information of Mar Roxas. Retrieved on 2007-09-16.
- ^ a b Senator Mar A. Roxas - Senate of the Philippines. Retrieved on 2007-09-16.
- ^ a b c d e f g About Mar. Retrieved on 2007-09-16.
- ^ Battle looming between LP and NP for presidency in 2010
- ^ Abs-Cbn Interactive, Roxas is new LP president, sets sights on 2010 poll
- ^ Abs-Cbn Interactive, Atienza questions Roxas' assumption as new LP prexy
- ^ Roxas files resolution for ZTE deal cancellation (2007-09-24). Retrieved on 2007-10-18.
- ^ Roxas: Pardon Erap at the appropriate time (2007-09-17). Retrieved on 2007-10-18.
- ^ Statement of Sen. Roxas on JPEPA (2007-10-04). Retrieved on 2007-10-18.
- ^ Cabacungan Jr., Gil (2007-06-06). Roxas warns: JPEPA safety nets needed. Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved on 2007-10-18.
- Senator Mar Roxas Official Senate site
- Mar Roxas Blog Official News tracker site
- Senate of the Philippines - Mar Roxas biography
- Mar Roxas' Assets and Liabilities
- Mar Roxas for President in 2010 Blog
| Senators of the 14th Congress of the Philippines | |
|---|---|
| Term ends June 30, 2010 | Biazon · Lapid · Estrada · Enrile · P. Cayetano-Sebastian · Santiago · Gordon · Madrigal-Valade · Pimentel · Revilla · Roxas |
| Term ends June 30, 2013 | Angara · Aquino · Arroyo · A. P. Cayetano · Escudero · Honasan · Lacson · Legarda · Pangilinan · Trillanes · Villar · Zubiri |
Categories: Mar Roxas | 1957 births | Ateneo de Manila University alumni | Filipino politicians | Living people | People from Quezon City | Senators of the Philippines | Wharton School alumni | Filipinos of Chinese descent | Mexican Filipinos | Filipinos of Spanish descent | People of Basque descent