Senator Mar Roxas was among the front-runners in a tight race for the Presidency when, in September of 2009, in a statesmanlike maneuver almost unheard of in Philippine politics, he relinquished his ambitions to give way to the candidacy of party-mate and now Liberal Standard-bearer Sen. Noynoy Aquino. This proved to be an inspired move; the tandem (with Aquino as Presidential candidate and Roxas as Vice Presidential bet) has consistently topped national surveys, with some finding that up to 70% of voters will vote for them.

Philippine News was fortunate enough to conduct a quick interview with Senator Mar despite his tight schedule.

Below is the transcript of the interview, edited for length.

PN: We understand you’ve been going around the country, hot on the campaign trail?

MAR: Yes, we’ve been going around. We’ve been going grassroots, and linking together the main political machinery of the Liberal Party with what I think is our greatest advantage over other candidates— the vast network of  volunteers and true believers in reform. So far the response has been overwhelmingly positive.

PN: A good number of Filipino voters, though, are abroad, and therefore will probably not be able to interact
with you in your sorties. Are you doing anything to reach out to them?

MAR: Working with and on the OFW sector is a huge part of our efforts. We have friends in the OFW communities abroad who disseminate information for us. The Internet, of course, is almost omnipresent, so we try to upload as much as we can on our website and on our Facebook pages. We’re doing everything we can to reach out to everyone, but at the same time, we’re hoping that every Filipino will keep himself informed about the issues, the histories, and the track records of every candidate.

PN: Speaking of history, we understand that you went to university abroad.

MAR: Yes, I went to Wharton—the Wharton Business School at the University of Pennsylvania. I took up a bachelor’s degree in economics, and majored in finance and political science. Grade school nd high school, though, was spent at the Ateneo de Manila.

PN: And after Wharton?

MAR: Work. I relished that life—living much like an ordinary OFW. From ’79, I lived in Manhattan and worked at Allen & Co., an investment banking firm. I worked a 12-hour schedule, sometimes flying to Atlanta, Chicago or Minneapolis in a day’s notice. I did my own chores, called home from time to time. It was a very transformative experience. I loved the anonymity. Whenever I achieved something, I achieved it not because I was a Roxas or an Araneta, not because I was the son of a senator or the grandson of a President. I worked my way up from entry level associate to VP. My name didn’t mean
anything. To a certain extent, my skin color might even have been a disadvantage.

PN: Were you an exceptional student?

MAR: Oh, no. I had fun.I went out, I skipped classes from time to time, but I understood
what I was there for. Early on I knew that I wanted to make the most of myself, through my own efforts, and getting a good education was key to that. That’s why education is one of the main points in the Aquino-Roxas platform. You can’t have sloppy textbooks, underpaid teachers, classrooms with leaking roofs. The Philippine government is spending only 2 percent to 3 percent of our GDP on education. This is merely half of the global norm of 5 percent to 6 percent. And we wonder why our children can’t compete in the global arena? This is one of the things we’re going to change once we’re in government.

PN: So you’re running on an education platform, then?

MAR: Not just education, although it’s one of our pillars. The main message actually is stopping corruption. “Kung walang corrupt, walang mahirap.”

PN: It seems you were doing well enough as an overseas worker. What made you decide to come home?

MAR: It was winter of ’85. I tuned in to “Nightline” and heard Marcos announce the snap elections in February. I was with a friend, and he said something to me, which struck a chord. He was from Cuba, which of course has its own share of troubles; he said he couldn’t fathom why I would even consider not being part of this unfolding of history, and that I was lucky that I had a country to come home to. The next day I took a leave of absence. A few days later I was in Iloilo, helping out in Tita Cory Aquino’s campaign. It was both a decision I made for the country, and at the same time, a very, very personal decision, since I knew Tita Cory personally. Ninoy and my dad (Senator Gerry Roxas) were buddies in the Senate and in the Liberal Party, they fought side by side during Martial Law.

PN: So it was a life politics for you, starting from then?

MAR: Not really. After EDSA I went back to New York for a while. I was able to convince the company to set
up shop in the Philippines, to establish a regional company in Manila. I went home for good because of that. Several years later, my brother Dinggoy, who was Representative of the 1st District of Capiz, passed on. In August of 1993, a special election was held, and I won the seat he vacated. The rest, as you know, is history.

PN: You talked about EDSA; your team’s campaign seems to be hinging on it, especially on the legacy of Former
President Corazon Aquino, to mobilize votes.

MAR: There definitely are some obvious parallelisms. The GMA administration’s stranglehold on government has lasted for 10 years, and there have been many attempts, and perhaps there are still more attempts to come, at extending her stay in power. For the past decade we have been lied to, cheated, and stolen from. And the people have had enough. As in EDSA, we’re trying to harness the same energies that led to that peaceful revolution.
As we’ve tried to say, time and again: this is not a campaign, it is a movement.

PN: What will be your first order of action if elected Vice-President?

MAR: My first act would be to waive my bank secrecy, and to push for similar waivers for all elected officials. This is one concrete way to ensure transparency and accountability, and consequently, to curb corruption.

PN: Any messages for our readers?

MAR: I call on everyone to join our movement for genuine, meaningful change. This is our shot, and it will be our only shot in the next six years. Huwag po nating sayangin ang pagkakataong ito. Noynoy Aquino and our Senatorial slate have the honesty, integrity, and decency to finally lead our country to progress. Nagtitiwala po kami na hindi ninyo kami pababayaan, at hindi natin pababayaan ang ating bayan. Maraming salamat po.