Political positions of Mar Roxas  Liberal Party presidential candidate Mar Roxas has taken positions on many national issues, including votes and remarks, since his election as senator during the 2004 Philippine elections, up until his appointment as the Secretary of Interior and Local Government. In July 2007, Roxas filed several bills in his first through the creation of a “people’s fund” for education that will help close the resource gaps in teachers’ training and salaries, infrastructure needs like classrooms and school buildings, among others. He also sought to increase the measly salaries of public school teachers, he filed a bill to mandate the upgrade of the government salary schedule under the Salary Standardization law every four years, or whenever necessary, to the prevailing cost of living index. For the benefit of students in private schools, he filed a proposed Pre-Need Code, which seeks to tighten-up the regulation of pre-need companies. He has also consistently pushed for increases in the budget of the Department of Education. Senator Mar Roxas, then chairman of the committee on economic affairs, trade and commerce, sought amendments to the power industry reform law to allow large electricity consumers to directly connect with state-owned National Power Corporation or any independent power producers to supply their power requirements. He also supports the use of biofuels. He believes that it will definitely reduce the country's dependence on imported oil once biofuels manufacturers begin operations in the country. Recently, he urged the trade, energy and finance departments to help ease the impact of rising petroleum prices on consumers. “I urge the three departments to plan and calibrate our responses [to rising oil prices] so as not to undermine [the] gains in the economy and financial markets,” said Roxas, chairman of the committee on trade and commerce. He said wage earners had to tighten their belts some more each time petroleum prices rose, and in particular the prices of cooking gas. “Any increase in the prices of liquefied petroleum gas and kerosene upsets the household budget for food and other essential needs,” he said. Roxas' position on health care has been highlighted with his cheaper medicines bill that would reduce the prices of medicine by allowing local pharmaceutical companies to manufacture drugs whose patents had already expired, by expanding the parallel imports of commonly used drugs, and by aggressively promoting the production and consumption of generic drugs. Under the bill, the President is empowered to impose price ceilings on medicines on the recommendation of the secretaries of health and of trade and industry in times of calamity, and if there is widespread price manipulation of any drugs.