As a representative of the 1st District of Capiz (1957 to 1963) and, later, as a Senator of the Republic of the Philippines (1963 to 1972), Gerry Roxas sponsored legislation that benefited the masses, improved living conditions, provided employment and family income and in general, promoted equitable sharing in the wealth of the nation.

In 1955, Gerry Roxas married Judy, the daughter of J. Amado and Ester Araneta, with whom he had three children: Maria Lourdes, Manuel II, and Gerardo Jr.

Roxas led the Liberal Party senatorial slate in 1963 and, after an exciting contest, emerged the top-notcher, obtaining the highest number of votes cast for a national candidate.

In the unfinished counting of the abruptly stopped Comelec tabulation, he lost by merely 26,724 votes, the narrowest margin ever recorded in Philippine vice presidential elections, to Fernando Lopez.

At that time, he was President of the Liberal Party[5] and was also co-Chairman of the United Nationalist Democratic Organization (UNIDO), a multi-sector network which galvanized societal opposition to Martial Law.

[citation needed] Roxas died on April 19, 1982, at the age of 58 at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City due to complications from a liver tumor.

""Only when we are vigilant – ready to participate in the public dialogue, militant in the protection of our cherished rights and assertive in the invalid of constructive dissent—will we be able to reverse the downward trend and ensure the ascendancy of a truly democratic and resilient state, a society responsive to the challenges we face."