Senator Roxas on Melo and Yano appointments

Senator Mar Roxas welcomed the reported appointments of retired Supreme Court associate justice Jose Melo as chairman of the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) and Army General Alexander Yano as the incoming Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).

"If these reports are true then I welcome these appointments. I am very confident that Justice Melo will uphold the same courage and professionalism when he issued the report on extrajudicial killings and that General Yano will effectively remove the stigma of partisanship in the AFP," Senator Roxas said.
The senator pointed out that the two appointments were the result of fruitful conversations between the executive branch and civil society and based on the credibility and qualifications of the two appointees.

Wednesday, January 30, 2008 | posted in , , , , , , , , | 0 comments [ More ]

The better deal of Senator Roxas

If the extra government income from the value-added tax (VAT) on oil will just be squandered on another national broadband network (NBN) or other questionable projects with doubtful benefits to the people, then taxpayers would be better served if they just get their money back.

Sen. Mar Roxas made the statement Sunday, as he stepped up his crusade to get the 12 percent VAT on petroleum products suspended for at least six months, in order to provide consumers instant and material relief from soaring fuel prices.

"The people will surely get a better deal if they simply get their money back now, instead of the government wasting the cash on costly experimental projects that have uncertain and unclear benefits to them (the people)," Roxas said.
The Liberal Party president's remarks came as the Senate prepared to resume its probe on the controversial NBN project, and on reports that the government is bent on building a similar system under supposedly different terms and conditions.

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Sen. Mar Roxas on Zero-VAT on oil


FAIRNESS ABOVE ALL. Senator Mar Roxas stressed that the people's plight in light of an "abnormal" situation of high oil prices is more important to consider than what Moody's and other international credit rating firms say. He said the bottom line of his proposal to suspend the 12% value-added tax on oil is fairness.

Speaking before members of the People's Unity Against Oil Price Hikes in Balay Kalinaw at the University of the Philippines, Roxas stressed that the crisis now has shifted to Juan dela Cruz and his weakening purchasing power, and the old medicine used to cure the previous problem of a government fiscal crisis is not anymore appropriate. Also shown in the picture are Emmie de Jesus of Gabriela, Dr. Giovanni Tapang of AGHAM and Bayan Muna Rep. Teddy Casiño.



ZERO VAT ON OIL NOW! Senator Mar Roxas, together with leaders of various groups forming the "People's Unity Against Oil Price Hikes," demand from the government to act responsively in easing the people's burden in light of an "abnormal" situation of high oil prices. Together, they called for the immediate suspension of the 12% value-added tax on oil products, which would provide immediate relief to jeepney and tricycle drivers, housewives, farmers and fishermen.

Together with him in a forum at Balay Kalinaw at the University of the Philippines are: Anakpawis Rep. Crispin Beltran (hidden), Wilson Baldonaza of Kilusang Mayo Uno, Sammy Malunes of Anakpawis (hidden), Renato Reyes of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, Rafael Mariano of Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas, Emmie de Jesus of Gabriela, Ferdie Gaite of COURAGE and Dr. Giovanni Tapang of AGHAM.

Sunday, January 27, 2008 | posted in , , , , , , | 0 comments [ More ]

Federico Pascual on Mar Roxas' plan

Here's an article from columnist Federico Pascual on Senator Mar Roxas' plan on urging the President to suspend the VAT on oil products:


MYOPIC VIEW: The Arroyo administration's main reason for opposing the suspension of the Value Added Tax on oil products is that the government will lose some P30 billion in one year.
That is a myopic view of consumer spending.
Suspending VAT collection on gasoline, diesel and other oil-based fuels will mean direct savings for utility drivers, motorists and households at the rate of more than P4 per liter for diesel and about P65 for every 11-kilo tank of cooking gas.

A jeepney driver who uses 25-30 liters of fuel every day will save P100-P120 a day or P2,200-P2,640 a month. Meanwhile, the government “loses” the VAT on that fuel.

But nobody loses anything. In fact, the government is actually a winner.

* * *

SPENDING POWER: As pointed out by Sen. Mar Roxas, who is pushing for the suspension of VAT on oil products, the P100 or so that the driver saves each “pasada” day is not a real loss to the government.

That money will immediately go back into circulation. The driver and his family -- and the millions of others who will benefit from the price cuts -- will not hide the savings in a shoebox or open a bank account to start a lifetime pile.

The money is soon spent for other goods and services that, as the law dictates, are subject to 12 percent VAT. There is no escaping the tax. It is as pervasive and as obnoxious as air pollution.

Consider the cascading effects of further stimulating the economy by putting more money in the hands of consumers, instead of in the secret pockets of grafters.

With 25 billion liters of fuel consumed each year, imagine the extra spending power passed on to consumers and the taxes they will pay on other goods and services.

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Senator Mar Roxas gets the support of Mayor Tom

Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña is supporting Senator Manuel "Mar" Roxas if he runs for the presidency in 2010.

While it has been part of Filipino culture to choose the more popular candidate, he said he always chooses the candidate, who is competent to be president.

“I'm supporting Mar basically because he comes from a very decent family and to me integrity is very important. He also has the best working knowledge of the country's economy,” he said.

He said both their fathers were also close to each other. Sergio Osmeña Jr. and Gerry Roxas fought against the Marcos regime during their time.

Thursday, January 24, 2008 | posted in , , , , , | 0 comments [ More ]

Mar Roxas in Ati-Atihan and Sinulog

Whew! Actually, I was a member of the crowd control for the Sinulog celebration last January 20. It was really hot! I mean, the sun was hot! I was there from sun up to sun down near Jolibee Gorordo. I was not only the one enjoying the festivity. There's Senator Mar Roxas who joined the Ati-Atihan in Aklan and the Sinulog in Cebu (he was in the Cebu City Sports Complex with Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña and Cebu Governor Gwen Garcia). Many people are asking me for pictures, but I don't have one. I was not able to take pictures because I was, as I said, a member of the crowd control group. But yesterday, Ate Jenny Bugarin of Senator Mar's media staff sent me these pictures of Senator Roxas during the festivities:

Tuesday, January 22, 2008 | posted in , , , , , , | 0 comments [ More ]

Show your Love! Build the Momentum!

We are already 137 petitioners strong as of today!

Please help me reach the 500 signatories mark by February 14, 2008! Let's urge Senator Mar Roxas to run for President in 2010. Your name would be the deciding factor to let Mar Roxas decide.

Please sign the online petition at www.petitionspot.com/petitions/marroxas2010

He is truly capable of being the next President of the Philippines. A leader who knows the economy, a leader who listens to the people and a leader who cares for the country.

Please sign the online petition at www.petitionspot.com/petitions/marroxas2010

Tell you friends about it. Forward this message to all of your contacts. Please help me in making this online campaign a successful one!


ORAS NA! ROXAS NA!

Friday, January 18, 2008 | posted in , , , , , | 1 comments [ More ]

What a busy week for me!

To all our avid blog subscribers and blog readers, I would like to apologize for not posting lately. I have been busy for my upcoming Midterm exams which would be this last week of January and I have also been busy in improving Senator Mar Roxas' Wikipedia article to make it more informative.

To those who can provide me sources and more inputs about Senator Mar Roxas, please e-mail me at kevinraychua@gmail.com so that I can place it on his Wikipedia article. Be sure to cite your sources. Wikipedia is very strict of it!

BTW, Wikipedia is a multilingual, web-based, free content encyclopedia project. To know more about it, please visit this link.

Wednesday, January 16, 2008 | posted in , , , , , | 0 comments [ More ]

Sen. Mar Roxas says NO to text tax


A Government plan to impose tax on text messages drew immediate criticism from Congress and consumers.

"The government is rubbing salt into the wound by first rejecting a bill to suspend the [value-added tax] on oil products, and then expressing openness to tax another daily-life necessity—texting,” said Senator Mar Roxas, chairman of the committee on trade and commerce.
Roxas accused the government of being insensitive by entertaining a tax on popular text messaging services on mobile phones, while refusing to suspend the 12 percent tax on petroleum products.

Friday, January 11, 2008 | posted in , , , , , | 0 comments [ More ]

Migz supports Mar's solution on oil crisis

Going against the administration’s stand, Lakas Senator Miguel Zubiri on Wednesday backed Liberal Party Senator Manuel “Mar” Roxas II's proposal to scrap the value-added tax on petroleum products and electricity.

“Before Senator Mar Roxas made the call, I had already filed a bill. Meron akong bill na-file sa Senado [I filed a bill in the Senate] removing the 12-percent VAT on fuel and electricity rates,” he said in a statement.
In fact, his bill proposes a permanent removal of the VAT on petroleum products and electricity. Roxas's proposes a six-month suspension of the tax’s collection.

The neophyte senator said that despite new roads, prices of agricultural products remain high because of high oil prices.

Wednesday, January 9, 2008 | posted in , , , , , | 0 comments [ More ]

Mar loves Korina... So what?

I just read a blog article about the Mar Roxas and Korina Sanchez Wedding yesterday and I think it was time to discuss that thing here.

Many people have been for or against their relationship. Senator Mar Roxas II's critics say that he's just using Korina Sanchez for his candidacy as Senator last 2004 and now probably as President in 2010. They must be nuts! I don't know why his critics keep on pointing out that Mar is not an effective, charismatic and intelligent leader that he has to depend to a single person in order to trumpet himself. Is Korina a threat that we should be afraid of her having a relationship with Mar? I think not! Korina has a very good record in public service and she is true to herself. She has principles and so does Mar have. They are a perfect match as far as I am concerned.

Should we have the right to deny Mar's feelings. Of course NO! Do you want yourself to be dictated on whom you should be together with your entire life?

So, Mar loves Korina! What's the problem then?

Tuesday, January 8, 2008 | posted in , , , , , , | 10 comments [ More ]

Mar-Francis in 2010! But Francis who?

In the polls of the Mar Roxas for President in 2010 Blog, we asked:

"If ever Sen. Mar Roxas runs for President in 2010, who should be his running-mate?"

It seems that the two Francis, namely Senators Francis "Chiz" Escudero of the Nationalist People's Coalition (NPC) and Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan of the Liberal Party (LP), are leading. But the Francis of the NPC seems edging out the Francis of the LP in the blog's poll. Here's the current standing as of January 6, 2008 6:00 PM (Philippine Time).



Francis "Chiz" Escudero - 55 votes (44%)

Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan - 24 votes (19%)

Loren Legarda - 7 votes (6%)

Panfilo "Ping" Lacson - 5 votes (4%)

Antonio "Sonny" Trillanes IV - 5 votes (4%)

Ma. Ana Consuelo "Jamby" Madrigal - 1 vote (1%)



Others: Noynoy Aquino, Vilma Santos, Tomas Osmeña, Gregorio Honasan - 21 votes (17%)

Sunday, January 6, 2008 | posted in , , , , , , , , , , , | 0 comments [ More ]

The Race is On for Mar and Manny

Thanks to Ate Jenny Bugarin, Senator Mar Roxas' media relations officer, for informing me about the Philippine Star's Starweek Magazine banner story today entitled "The Race Is On - Manuel Villar, Jr. and Manuel Roxas II : First on the starting block". Indeed, the race is on!

I hope to see a Manny Villar-Mar Roxas fight for the presidency in 2010. It would be our first step in returning to the 2 party system.

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Smoketalking the Mar Roxas 2010 Blog

As I was visiting the Smoketalk Blog this afternoon, I was surprised by this article, which I think is worth reading:

Heh. And I thought I was early. Kevin Ray Chua totally beat me to the punch, bitchez. Check out his Mar Roxas fan site! You have got to admire this fella. Only 17 and he’s already blazing the way in terms of campaigning on the intertubes. Comelec had better sit up and take notice of this dude. I mean, as far as I know, campaigning over the net isn’t covered by that anachronism - the Fair Elections Act.

Read more...

Read it and enjoy! It really flatters me...

Friday, January 4, 2008 | posted in , , , , , | 0 comments [ More ]

Roxas still 2010 LP bet

THE LIBERAL PARTY, one of two resurgent political groups hoping to capture the presidency of the Philippines, appears unprepared to accept deposed president Joseph Estrada as the anti-Arroyo forces' common standard-bearer in 2010.

Quezon Rep. Lorenzo Tañada, a member of the LP national executive council and chairman of the House committee on human rights, said the second oldest existing political party in the country already had a presidential candidate who could restore trust in the government.

Muntinlupa City Rep. Ruffino Rozzano Biazon, another LP leader in the House and vice chair of the committee on national defense, said he did not expect the party to back away from its plan to field its own presidential candidate two years from now.

"If President Erap [Estrada] is given the green light by the Supreme Court considering the constitutional issues, then we should respect his decision if he decides to run. It's premature to talk about possible scenarios," Tañada said of the nascent proposal that anti-Arroyo presidential hopefuls rally behind Estrada.

"Maybe one way to unite the country and move forward is to look beyond who is the opposition or administration candidate but who is the better candidate for the country. We have a candidate in the LP who we believe can unite and move this country forward," he said.

The LP has elected Sen. Manuel Roxas II--who received the highest number of votes in the 2004 senatorial election--as its president. He has also been chosen the party's standard-bearer in 2010.

Read more...

Thursday, January 3, 2008 | posted in , , , , , , | 0 comments [ More ]

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