By Toots Ople I knew it was coming but was stunned just the same when I heard it. Claiming my space in the crowded Gabaldon room of Club Filipino, I saw him enter the room, my former boss, Mar Roxas in blue, smiling and with a sparkle in his eyes. If he was in pain, he didn’t show it. Butch Abad, campaign manager of Noynoy Aquino in 2007 and of Mar for 2010, opened the press conference. Liberal Party chairman emeritus Sen. Jovito Salonga was seated with Mar at the presidential table. The heat was rising as warm bodies jostled to get the best shot, or have the main speakers directly in their line of vision. Suspense was palpable. Mar stood up and read a prepared statement. Short and sweet. Country above self, he said. Noynoy wanted to carry the torch. Even before his speech was over, the new LP presidential bet came in and joined the main figures at the presidential table. No Q & A. In a matter of minutes, the torch was passed, and Mar of those silly padyak ads became Mar the selfle...

By Senator Mar Roxas Club Filipino, 1st of September 2009 Country above self. Bayan bago ang sarili.Iyan ang habilin ng aking lolo, President Manuel Roxas. Our nation is in trouble. Leadership is bankrupt. Institutions are in disarray. People are hungry. Noynoy Aquino and I share the same outrage over the mess we are all in, the same way we share solution – clean, honest, selfless public service. Marami at matindi and nga problem ng bansa. Kailangan nating ayusin. Matindi ang kalaban. We need a determined force for good far stroinger than the festering evil around us. We need to fight just as our own fathers fought dictatorship, and just as both died believing that good will conquer evil. Noynoy and I want to make a difference, but we also know that we need to unite to achieve what we want. I am the President of the Liberal Party. It is within my power to preside over a potentially divisive process or to make the party a bridge for the forces of change. I choose to lead unity, not divi...

MORE TO THE POINT BY Florangel Rosario Braid It is noteworthy that at the 63rd Liberal Party anniversary, LP President Mar Roxas, chose to focus on what it means to be a Liberal – “the responsibility of assuming a clear public duty, the satisfaction it provides - having a reason to live, and a reason to serve the lofty cause of fighting for our people.” What should make every party member proud, he noted, was that since the beginning, the Liberal Party had been at the center in setting up the pillars of independence and the rebuilding of the nation after World War II. Also that the Party was central to the establishment of what is now the centerpiece of the Constitution – social justice. Two transformational initiatives - land reform, and the first minimum wage law, R.A. 4150, were legislated and implemented by the Liberal Party. In the 1970’s, LP leaders were again actively involved in the fight against the dictatorship, in the events before and after Edsa One, and the rejection ...

Politics is addition, not subtraction. Erap has a lot of time in his hands -- enough time to prepare for 2010. Whether running as president or kingmaker, Tatay Erap is still like a force of nature. Whether you like it or not, you will see more of him in the next few days. That is, if he is not busy going around the country, to thank the people for trusting him. *** AMITA LEGASPI, GMANews.TV August 21, 2008 MANILA, Philippines - Dethroned Partido ng Masang Pilipino (PMP) president Alfredo Lim may find himself joining the party that had him as standard bearer in the 1998 presidential elections. This was after Sen. Manuel “Mar” Roxas II disclosed that he had invited Lim to join Liberal Party (LP) and that preliminary talks are “ongoing.” “We have high regard of Lim and we respect him. We welcome him (if he intends to join the party),” Roxas, the LP president, said Thursday. Lim formally resigned from PMP Wednesday after he was booted out of the presidency. Pardoned former President Joseph...