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The Honorable
MANUEL A. ROXAS II
Secretary
Department of Trade and Industry |
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As illustrious as his family name is, Sec. "MAR" Roxas prides
himself in having been re-appointed by Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo as Secretary of Trade
and Industry, undoubtedly one of the most important Cabinet portfolio in any
administration.
The former Majority Floor Leader of the 11th Congress has the education
as well as the professional experience for the job. MAR finished his elementary and
secondary education at the Ateneo de Manila. He spent a year of college in the same
university before he transferred to the Wharton School of Economics in 1976. Thereafter,
he did post-graduate studies at the Kennedy School of Government. He also boasts of a
career as a businessman and investment banker.
During his six-year stint (1993-1998) as Representative of the 1st
District of Capiz, MAR's legislative agenda focused on strengthening the country's
economic foundations and enhancing its competitiveness. Foremost among his legislative
initiatives was RA 7880, a landmark legislation aptly named as "Roxas Law" which
rationalizes and makes fair the DECS capital outlay particularly for the nationwide
construction of school buildings, in recognition of the reality that fair and equitable
access to education underpins sustainable development. Other laws with the Roxas
imprimatur are RA 8756 providing incentives to multinational corporations establishing
regional headquarters in the country; RA 8557 establishing the Philippine Judicial
Academy; and RA 8747 amending the Special Economic Zone Act of 1995.
His accomplishments as legislator and public servant have been
acknowledged both here and abroad. Asiaweek named MAR as one of "the young leaders in
politics and business who will bring Asia and the Pacific at the forefront of world
affairs." Similarly, the World Economic Forum based in Switzerland and composed of
the world's top 1,000 corporations recognized MAR in 1996 as "one of the Global
Leaders of Tomorrow who are expected to shape the future."
Sec. Roxas was born on 13 May 1957 and is still very much single. |
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