On December 10, 2003, Roxas resigned from his post to prepare for his senatorial bid under the banner of the
Liberal Party in the
2004 elections. Roxas said that he needed to separate his work in DTI from his work as a candidate and added that his resignation did not surprise the President. He was succeeded by
Cesar Purisima, former chairman of the accounting firm
Sycip Gorres Velayo & Co. Upon winning a seat in the 2004 Senate election, Roxas was proclaimed by the
Commission on Elections as Senator-elect on May 24, 2004, and officially assumed the office at noon of June 30, 2004. Roxas held assignments on the Senate Committee on Trade and Commerce and Senate Oversight Committee on Optical Media Board serving alongside
Ramon "Bong" Revilla, Jr. Roxas authored 43 bills and 46 resolutions brought before the
13th Congress in July 2004 and 2007. He filed bills on fighting
smuggling, supporting
labor,
education,
economy, and
alternative energy. On February 26, 2006, the Philippines was under a
state emergency after the
government claimed that it foiled an alleged ''
coup d'état'' attempt against the administration of Philippine President
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo earlier that same day. Two days later, Roxas called on the government to immediately revoke
Proclamation No. 1017, saying it betrays its own vision of a strong republic and directly attack Philippine democracy. Roxas voted in favor of the Revised Value-Added Tax Law when it was deliberated in the Senate. The law was co-authored by other
Liberal Party members,
Franklin Drilon and
Francis Pangilinan. He also voted in favor of the abolition of the
death penalty in the Philippines. Roxas voted against the
Human Security Act together with Senator
Jamby Madrigal saying that "
the fight against terror requires urgent operational reforms over measures that could impair civil liberties". He even warned that the said law poses a danger to the security and rights of every Filipino if there will be no set of implementing rules and regulations laid down. Roxas' legislative agenda for the
14th Congress is as follows: •
EVAT Funds for Education and Healthcare – He has filed Senate Bill No. 102 (People's Fund Act) to ease the effect of the 12%
E-VAT. The People's Fund would consist of thirty percent (30%) of all proceeds from the VAT collected under Title IV of the National Internal Revenue Code. This portion estimates the share of incremental revenues from
Republic Act No. 9337, the Expanded Value-Added Tax law, which increased to 12% the
VAT and removed the exemption. •
Tax Exemption for Minimum Wage Earners – He has filed Senate Bill No. 103 (Individual Tax Exemption for Minimum Wage Earners Bill) to exempt
minimum wage earners in the private sector and government workers in Salary Grades 1 to 3, amending certain provisions of
Republic Act No. 8424, otherwise known as the National Internal Revenue Code of 1997, as amended. As per estimates by the National Wages and Productivity Board, there are 7 million workers earning the
minimum wage and even below. For him, it is unfair and unjust that the government, under the law, is taking away a portion of their already subsistence-level income. •
Amendments to the Roxas Law – He has filed Senate Bill No. 104 to amend
Republic Act No. 7880, also known as the Fair and Equitable Access to Education Act, to eliminate the problem of classroom shortages in the
Philippines, as well as enhancing the process of construction, rehabilitation, replacement, completion, and repair of needed school buildings and classrooms. •
Regulating the Pre-Need Industry – He has filed Senate Bill No. 105 (Pre-Need Industry Act of 2007) to address the absence of a statute that regulates the pre-need industry by establishing the Pre-Need Industry Act of 2007 to govern the operations of firms which issue or sell pre-need plans or similar contracts and investments. •
Anti-Smuggling Bill – He has filed Senate Bill No. 106 (Anti-Smuggling Act of 2007) to amend certain provisions of Presidential Decree No. 1464, otherwise known as the Tariff and Customs Code of the Philippines, as amended. Under the proposed bill, an Audit and Transparency Group under the Bureau of Customs, headed by a Deputy Commissioner, would regularly inspect and report on the bureau's operational processes, collection and financial reporting, fiscal and personnel performance, system efficiency, internal control, information and communication flow, fraudulent and illegal practices and other related areas. On the basis of these inspections and reports, the Audit and Transparency Deputy Commissioner can initiate investigations of fraud and other graft and corrupt practices in the bureau, and shall recommend to the
Office of the Ombudsman the filing of any cases against personnel and officers involved. •
Lemon Law – He has filed Senate Bill No. 107 (Lemon Law of 2007) to have a one-year period in which buyers of brand-new vehicles can avail of the provisions of this Lemon Law, which allows up to four repairs on the same defect before a replacement or refund of the vehicle can be claimed. For him, it would ensure that the investment on a vehicle is money well-spent. •
SME Magna Carta – He has filed Senate Bill No. 108 (Magna Carta for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises) to strengthen
Republic Act No. 6977, the Magna Carta for Small Enterprises. The focus of the amendments of this bill focuses on three points: guidelines, institutional support and organizational support. Guidelines refer to the specific asset size definition, appropriating a definite and regular amount for the Small and Medium Enterprise Development (SMED) Council and increase in the mandatory allocation to lending activities. Institutional support comprises additional government agencies to coordinate SME efforts and formalization of the SME Development Plan. Lastly, organizational support to intensify the powers and increase capitalization of the Small Business and Guarantee Finance Corporation to complement the growing demands for financing. Other features of the bill include formalizing the celebration of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) Week and recognition of outstanding MSMEs. •
Free Information Act – He has filed Senate Bill No. 109 (Free Information Act) to implement the Constitutional guarantee to free access by the people to official information, except when the disclosure of such information would jeopardize other prerogatives of the government, namely, the protection of the privacy of individuals, trade secrets, national security, public order and safety, and foreign diplomatic relations. The bill also proposes the adoption by all government bodies a mechanism wherein all written requests for information shall be responded to within two days, unless proper justification is given by the government body, subject only to the payment of reasonable fees for the viewing or reproduction of such information. To compel disclosure of information, in case a government body refuses access to such information on whatever grounds, the
Office of the Ombudsman would be tapped to hear any citizens' complaints of not being properly assisted by the pertinent government body. Penalties will be levied to officials or employees who knowingly and unjustly refuse to provide access to information, or who consciously release false or misleading information. •
Decriminalizing Libel – He has filed Senate Bill No. 110 (Penalty of Imprisonment in Libel Cases Abolition Bill) to decriminalize libel and limit the venue of filing libel suits. He believes that the approval of the said measure would be a small way by which Congress may help in alleviating the plight of
journalists. •
K–12 Implementation Process - He has filed Senate Bill No. 2294 (Omnibus Education Reform Act of 2008) to strengthen the Philippine education system through timely interventions on the quality of teachers, the medium of instruction used and the evaluation of students' aptitude, among other aspects. It mandates the 9-year implementation process of
K–12 that spanned from May 20, 2008 to June 5, 2017 during the administrations of
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to
Rodrigo Duterte and effectivity of K–12 four years later on April 24, 2012 as part of the process which increase in the number of years in basic education, from 10 years to 12 years as consistent with global standards. On November 26, 2007, LP National Executive Council officials resolved to appoint him as president of the Liberal Party. Roxas was to unite the two LP factions and set the stage for his presidential campaign in the 2010 election.
Lito Atienza, however, forthwith questioned Roxas' appointment, attacking the composition of Liberal Party's National Executive Council (NECO) and alleging that the
Supreme Court of the Philippines' June 5 resolution ordered the LP leadership's status quo maintenance. Atienza stated: "I have no invitation. They kicked me out of the meeting; How can you (Roxas) unite the party when you take the wrong step?"
Platform Senator Mar Roxas has taken positions on many national issues since his election as senator during the
2004 Philippine elections. About the ZTE deal, Roxas introduced a resolution urging President
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to cancel the Philippine government's National Broadband Network (NBN) project with China's
Zhong Xing Telecommunications Equipment (ZTE) Corporation. Roxas said that the $329.4-million deal "was driven by supply and not by demand" and will not benefit Filipinos. He believes that the cancellation of the deal would not affect the relationship of the Philippines with
China. In order to finally put a just closure to national divisiveness, Roxas filed Senate Resolution No. 135 calling on President
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to issue a
pardon to former President
Joseph Ejercito Estrada (popularly known as "Erap") at the appropriate time, in which he said: "The grant of
pardon to Erap on humanitarian grounds should not in any way be construed as condoning corruption, or as diminishing the legal weight of the ruling of the
Sandiganbayan, but serves solely as an embodiment of the people's will for closure on one of the most divisive chapters of our national life." Regarding the
Japan–Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement, Roxas has said: "In trade negotiations, no deal is always better than a bad deal." He issued a warning after President
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo pressed on the
Senate to ratify the Japan-Philippine Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA) amid concerns aired by
Tokyo for the early approval. Roxas was optimistic that the pact would be given serious consideration by the Senate if the government revised the deal to get a better trade-off. == 2010 elections ==