Life and Political Career
Born in Manila on August 25, 1924, Gerry Roxas was heir to a tradition of public service and leadership. His father, Manuel Acuña Roxas of Capiz, was the first President of the Republic. His mother, Trinidad De Leon of San Miguel, Bulacan, was the daughter of the late Senator Ceferino De Leon, who was a member of the Malolos Congress which drafted the revolutionary Constitution of 1896. He finished elementary school at the De La Salle College and high school at the Ateneo de Manila. He studied law at the University of the Philippines College of Law and graduated in 1949. The following year, he was admitted to the Philippine Bar. In 1955, Gerry Roxas married Judy, the daughter of J. Amado and Ester Araneta, with whom he had three children: Maria Lourdes or "Ria", Manuel II or "Mar", and the late Gerardo, Jr. or “Dinggoy”
In 1957, he was elected Congressman of the First District of Capiz and won with an overwhelming majority. He was re-elected in 1961. Gerry Roxas led the Liberal Party senatorial slate in 1963 and, after an exciting contest, emerged the topnotcher, obtaining the highest number of votes cast for a national candidate. In 1965, he ran for Vice-President as the running mate of then President Diosdado Macapagal. In the unfinished counting of the abruptly stopped Comelec tabulation, he lost by merely 26,724 votes, the narrowest margin ever recorded in our country’s Vice-Presidential elections. He ran for re-election in the 1969 senatorial elections and emerged as the sole survivor of the entire Liberal Party senatorial slate.
As a young congressman, Gerry Roxas established scholarship grants (1958) in Capiz province and later, the nationwide Gerry Roxas Leadership Awards (1968) to motivate and develop the youth’s potentials in leadership and service to country. This nationwide program continues to this day.
Read more about this topic: Gerardo Roxas
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