In this biography
Quick facts
- Born
- 13 May 1957
- Birthplace
- Quezon City, Philippines
- Country
- Philippines
- Nationality
- Filipino
- Known for
- Moving across economic, transport and interior portfolios before becoming the Liberal Party’s 2016 presidential candidate
- Full name
- Manuel Araneta Roxas II
- House service
- 1993–2000
- Senate service
- 2004–2010
- Cabinet portfolios
- Trade, transportation and interior
Why this life matters
Roxas personified the policy-focused Liberal Party establishment whose administrative record and electoral limits shaped the Aquino-to-Duterte transition.
Timeline
Key moments
Entered the House of Representatives
Won a special election to represent the first district of Capiz.
Became trade and industry secretary
Led economic programmes promoting information technology, investment and small enterprise.
Won a Senate seat
Returned to elected office with a legislative agenda on competition, consumer welfare and medicines.
Ran for vice president
Finished second to Jejomar Binay by 727,084 votes and filed an electoral protest.
Served in the Aquino cabinet
Led the transportation department and then the Department of the Interior and Local Government.
Finished second in the presidential election
Carried the Liberal Party’s continuity platform but lost the national contest to Rodrigo Duterte.
Economic policy and a family name in public service
Manuel “Mar” Roxas II is the grandson of President Manuel Roxas and the son of senator Gerardo Roxas, but began his professional career in investment banking after studying economics at the Wharton School. He entered Congress from Capiz in 1993.
As trade and industry secretary from 2000, Roxas promoted information-technology services, investment and consumer policy. The growth of business-process outsourcing became closely associated with his public image, even though the industry’s expansion depended on many administrations and private firms.
The Senate and a narrow vice-presidential loss
Roxas won election to the Senate in 2004 and worked on economic, consumer and health-related measures. In 2010 he gave up an expected presidential bid to run as Benigno Aquino III’s vice-presidential partner.
Congress proclaimed Jejomar Binay the winner by 727,084 votes. Roxas filed a protest, but the Presidential Electoral Tribunal dismissed it as moot in 2016 after the contested term had expired, leaving the official result unchanged without a merits ruling that reversed the count.
Cabinet responsibility and the 2016 realignment
Roxas returned to the executive as transportation secretary and then interior secretary. Those roles placed him at the centre of infrastructure, policing, local government and disaster-response controversies as the Aquino administration prepared its succession strategy.
As the Liberal Party presidential candidate in 2016, he defended continuity and administrative competence. His loss to Rodrigo Duterte revealed the weakness of that message against demands for faster change, stronger executive action and leadership from outside the Manila establishment.
Quick answers
Frequently asked questions about Mar Roxas
- Who is Mar Roxas?
- Mar Roxas is a legislator, cabinet secretary and presidential candidate. Roxas personified the policy-focused Liberal Party establishment whose administrative record and electoral limits shaped the Aquino-to-Duterte transition.
- What is Mar Roxas best known for?
- Mar Roxas is best known for moving across economic, transport and interior portfolios before becoming the Liberal Party’s 2016 presidential candidate.
- When and where was Mar Roxas born?
- Mar Roxas was born on 13 May 1957 in Quezon City, Philippines.
Sources and further reading
How this biography was checked
Core dates and offices are checked against the sources below. This profile was last reviewed on 9 September 2026.
- Senate of the Philippines Legislative Reference BureauMar A. Roxas senator profile
- Presidential Electoral Tribunal via LawPhilRoxas v. Binay — 2010 vice-presidential election protest
- Congress of the Philippines via Senate archive2016 joint congressional canvass and proclamation
- Wikimedia CommonsPortrait and licence record
