Erap camp to Comelec: Disqualify Villar over campaign ads

The camp of Puwersa ng Masang Pilipino standard bearer, former President Joseph Estrada, today dared the Commission on Elections to disqualify any candidate who has violated the Omnibus Election Code, particularly the limit set on airtime for his or her campaign advertisements.


“This is an acid test for our poll officials, and if they fail this one, then the results of the May 2010 national elections will forever be put in doubt," PMP spokesman Ralph Calinisan said.

Calinisan was reacting to the report recently by the advocacy group, Pera at Pulitika, and based on the data from the AGB Nielsen Media Research, which showed that Nacionalista Party president candidate Sen. Mannya Villar has already exceeded his alloted airtime for TV campaign ads, totalling 2,054 minutes.

The report also revealed that Villar has outspent his other rivals for the presidency, shelling out P1.2-billion from Nov. 1, 2009 to Feb. 8, 2010.

“What we are seeing here is a clear case of using money not to promote one’s program of government but to purchase a quick ride to the presidency,” Calinisan said.

“The Filipino electorate can see through this, and we are all calling on the Comelec to fulfill its mandate in this regard.”

He cited Section 11 of Comelec Resolution No. 8758, which sets the duration of airtime that a candidate may avail of for his or her campaign: 120 minutes in television or cable television, and 180 minutes in radio

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Manny Villar "Pacquiao’s victory shows importance of perseverance"

Senator Manuel Villar, Nacionalista Party standard-bearer, lauded Pacquiao for the perseverance that made him the greatest boxer in the world.


In a statement on Sunday, Villar said Pacquiao’s win over the Ghanian boxer Joshua Clottey was yet another proof that with "perseverance, anyone can overcome any obstacle."

Villar’s statement tries to bring to mind his own rags-to-riches campaign message, which has been using the "Sipag at Tiyaga" (Industry and Perseverance) slogan.

"Isang halimbawa si Manny na kaya nating talunin ang kahirapan, na magaling ang Pilipino, at karapat-dapat lamang na kilalanin ng buong mundo. Mabuhay ka, Manny! (Manny is an example that we can defeat poverty, that the Filipino people are excellent and competent and they deserve to be known in the world. Long live, Manny!" Villar said.

Pacquiao is running for Congress in the lone district of Saranggani under the Villar ticket in the May 10 elections.

The boxer was a staunch ally of President Macapagal Arroyo before defecting to the NP camp.

Pacquiao had announced he would join Villar’s campaign sorties upon his return to the country after his fight.

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Aquino, Villar race tightens

Two months before the May 10 elections, the presidential race may have narrowed down to Senators Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III and Manuel “Manny” Villar Jr., but nobody has a clear lead yet, a political analyst said Tuesday.




“You may have a lead, but it does not necessarily mean that this will be maintained. But it appears that it’s a one-on-one between the two,” Ramon Casiple said of Aquino and Villar.



In the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey, Aquino of the Liberal Party (LP) and Villar of the Nacionalista Party (NP) were neck and neck. Aquino’s running mate Sen. Manuel “Mar” Roxas II, however, continued to lead the vice presidential race by a wide margin.



Of the 2,100 registered voters SWS polled from Feb. 24 to Feb. 28, Aquino got 36 percent, while Villar stayed close with 34 percent.



The gap falls within the margin of error of 2.2 percentage points used in the survey.



With the margin of error, support for Aquino ranged from a low of 33.8 percent to a high of 38.2 percent, while support for Villar ranged from 31.8 percent to 36.2 percent. The respondents were given “ballots” that they had to mark in private and deposit in a container brought by the interviewer, according to BusinessWorld.



Other candidates



Trailing the front-runners were deposed President Joseph Estrada (15 percent, up 2 points), former Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro (6 percent, also up 2 points), Bro. Eddie Villanueva (3 percent, up 1 point), Sen. Richard Gordon (2 percent, no change), Vetellano Acosta (0.4 percent), Nicanor Perlas (0.2 percent), Olongapo Councilor JC de los Reyes (0.1 percent) and Sen. Jamby Madrigal (0.1 percent).



Acosta was disqualified by the Commission on Elections last week.



“[Aquino’s] lead is steadily getting smaller,” Mahar Mangahas, SWS president, said in an interview with ABS-CBN News Channel. “That’s very clear.”



Not a tie



In the SWS surveys on Dec. 5-10, 2009, and Jan. 21-24, Aquino was ahead of Villar by 19 points and 7 points, respectively.



“We’re saying it’s a 2-point lead [in the latest survey]. We’re not calling it a tie,” Mangahas said. “To say that it is a tie is to lean toward one side. So we’re not calling it a tie unless it is the exact same point.”



SWS said the 6-point decline in Aquino’s rating since January was due to drops in all four areas across the country: 7 points in the balance of Luzon, 6 in Mindanao, 5 in the Visayas, and 3 in Metro Manila.



Villar “lost 6 percentage points in Metro Manila, 2 in the balance of Luzon, and one in Mindanao, but picked up 5 in the Visayas to trim his overall slide to just 1 point,” BusinessWorld said.



By socioeconomic class, Aquino was ahead in Class D (38 percent compared with Villar’s 34 percent), while Villar was ahead in Classes ABC (33 percent compared with Aquino’s 30 percent) and Class E (34 percent versus Aquino’s 32 percent).



Vice presidential race



As for the vice presidential race, Roxas remained No. 1 with 45 percent. This was actually a drop of 4 percentage points for Roxas from the January survey, but support for Loren Legarda, Villar’s running mate, remained at 28 percent.



Other vice presidential candidates did not gain substantially. Following Roxas and Legarda were Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay (17 percent), former Metro Manila Development Authority chair Bayani Fernando (3 percent), former Optical Media Board chair Edu Manzano (2 percent), broadcaster Jay Sonza (1 percent), former Securities and Exchange Commission chief Perfecto Yasay (0.4 percent), and Dominador Chipeco (0.4 percent).



Wild swings



The most recent Pulse Asia survey, released last week, showed Villar’s 29 percent trailing Aquino’s 36 percent.



The different results of the Pulse Asia and SWS surveys could be an indication of voters’ “wild swings,” said Casiple, executive director of the Institute for Political and Electoral Reforms.



“There are wild swings among the voters, and there are only a few undecided. They have somebody in mind, but their choice is affected by issues that come out in the media. That’s why the trending is not fixed,” he said in a brief phone interview.



The voters, Casiple said, had a “deep interest” in the presidential election and were closely monitoring the news coming out in the media about the candidates.



Aquino upbeat



“Their choice is affected by rumors that Villar is a secret candidate of the administration, and the issue of incompetence against the other,” he said.



The presidential race has tightened, but Aquino is upbeat. “I’m still No. 1, but it doesn’t mean we’re satisfied with that. The tightening race means that we’d just have to redouble our efforts,” he said in a phone interview.



Aquino said remaining ahead of his rivals despite what he called a “tsunami” of political ad and media spending by Villar was in itself an achievement.



“I think our message is getting to its target audience despite our lack of resources. We just make it up with our campaigns and grassroots volunteers,” said the LP standard-bearer.



LP campaign strategist Florencio “Butch” Abad Jr. said Villar had failed to overtake Aquino in the surveys despite exceeding the limit on ad spending.



Villar happy



In Davao City, a beaming Villar said: “We are statistically tied.”



Villar said the presidential contest was still between him and Aquino.



“As for me, I am comfortable with my lead and, of course, we still look to Noynoy (as a close rival) although we respect all the candidates. However, (Estrada’s) distance (or lead) from us is still far,” Villar said.



He said he was happy that “surveys have confirmed that we are responding to the hopes of the people across the country.”



“During my campaign sorties in the provinces the people have shown that they are supporting our vision to address poverty,” Villar added.



He attributed the rise in his ratings to the frenetic pace of his campaign sorties across the country since Feb. 9.



“Of course, the others who are (trailing in surveys), we expect them to get more points now because of their wider exposure,” Villar said.



Estrada elated



Estrada expressed elation over his rising rating. Told that his performance in the SWS survey wasn’t as good as his showing in Pulse Asia’s poll, Estrada said: “Whose numbers went down? As far as we are concerned, we are moving up.”



Estrada, who’s running for another term after he was forced out of office in 2001, said that if his numbers continued to go up at the rate they were going, he would have a high-enough rating to win come May.



“It’d be over for them,” Estrada said.” In 1998, I started in third place. It’s hard to be No. 1. It’s more difficult (to start) from the top (and then) going down, isn’t it?”



The camp of Teodoro welcomed his slight improvement in rating. “We’re gaining ground right in time for the presidential elections in May,” said Mike Toledo, spokesperson for Teodoro.

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Aquino, Villar face pastor’s ‘divine wrath’

The two front-runners in the presidential race Tuesday failed to show up at what had been billed as a major debate, and the wrath of the “Son of God” came down upon them.




Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III of the Liberal Party (LP) had excused himself, citing sinus problems, while Nacionalista Party (NP) candidate Sen. Manuel Villar was tied up in a series of meetings, aides said.



Six other candidates—former Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro, Senators Richard Gordon and Jamby Madrigal, former President Joseph Estrada, evangelist Eddie Villanueva and environmentalist Nicanor Perlas—attended the presidential forum organized by the group called “Kingdom of Jesus Christ, the Name Above Every Name.”



The sect is headed by Pastor Apollo Quiboloy, a self-proclaimed “Appointed Son of God” who claims millions of followers.



No word, no honor



For Quiboloy, who still has to decide on whom his group will support on May 10, it’s all about palabra de honor (word of honor).



After reading an e-mail from Aquino explaining why he could not come, Quiboloy—obviously referring to the LP standard-bearer—told the thousands who came to hear the debate:



“You might be disappointed just like me. There is something that they say about commitment. An unknown man defined it as word of honor. When you fail to fulfill your commitment, you have no word and you have no honor.”



Noynoy’s reason



In his e-mail which Quiboloy read before the other candidates were asked to present their platforms of government, Aquino said he was advised by his doctors not to fly.



“As previously arranged, I have marked this event and was eagerly looking forward to meeting you … and to share my platform. But I was advised by my physician not to travel by aircraft for two consecutive occasions due to barosinusitis,” Aquino said.



Barosinusitis is an inflammation of one or more of the sinuses and can be aggravated by air travel.



Quiboloy cries unfair



Apparently, Quiboloy was not happy. He said that the forum had been moved to Tuesday because he wanted Aquino to attend.



“It was originally set on Feb. 11 but Senator Aquino said that he won’t be able to make it at that time. I asked him to choose the date. Aquino chose March 9 and he committed to come on this day. But on Tuesday, he called and informed me that he won’t be able to come,” Quiboloy lamented.



“All those whom we have invited came and fulfilled their commitments and they are here today. May God bless us all,” the Christian preacher said.



Although Villar was not castigated during the forum and prayer-meeting, Quiboloy told reporters later it was “unfair” that the Nacionalista Party (NP) candidate did not show up.



“I am disappointed [at] both of them because they’ve committed [to come] only to tell us at the last minute that they cannot make it,” Quiboloy said.



No endorsement yet



“Villar kept us waiting. His chief of staff kept on informing us that ‘parating na (he’s on his way’ ... but hindi pala (it turns out not). Why were we not informed? There is no explanation ... When you say something, do it,” Quiboloy added.



“It’s unfair to the Filipinos,” he said.



Quiboloy said his choice of presidential candidate would be announced next month, adding he was still “waiting for the Father’s revelation.”



Quiboloy claimed he has at least six million followers “in and out” of the country. Of the six million, at least three million are of voting age, he said.



‘A man of honor’



Villar arrived at about 11 a.m. but was unable to attend the forum because he was “held up in a series of meetings,” his party headquarters said.



It said Villar was seeking ways to meet Quiboloy “as soon as possible” and that the senator “is ready to face the assembly to explain his programs ... if he will be given a chance to do so.”



In Manila, Aquino’s spokesperson, Edwin Lacierda, said that Quiboloy’s remarks about people having no word of honor was “unfortunate.”



“Senator Aquino is a man of honor and has delivered on his commitments. Unfortunately in this instance, it is beyond his control,” Lacierda said. “We hope Pastor Quiboloy will not use this one instance to hit the character of Senator Aquino.”



Lacierda noted that Villar himself was not able to attend the forum. He also said that Aquino was still willing to meet with Quiboloy if circumstances permitted.



Borrowed plane



The forum started later than its 3 p.m. schedule.



The candidates tackled issues that had been raised in previous debates, such the energy crisis, the El Niño phenomenon, the pork barrel system, corruption, healthcare, poverty, the conflict in Mindanao, private armies and education.



Estrada, who arrived at about 4:30 p.m., caused gales of laughter when he told the crowd he was late “because I just borrowed a plane. I could not afford to buy my own private plane.”



Asked how he could win back the people’s trust, Estrada, who was convicted of plunder but pardoned later, said: “To gain the respect of our people, you must be transparent in all your transactions in government.”



Gordon advocated a 24-hour working presidency. “You can text the President anytime,” he said.



Teodoro promised “to lead with humility,” saying: “To reach out and to heal, that is the first step toward sustainable progress.”



The forum was held at the 3,000-seat cathedral inside the sect’s central headquarters.



One-vote group



Some Roman Catholic Church officials said the attention that aspiring presidents was showering on Quiboloy was more because of the votes he commands rather than because of religion.



“The Quiboloy sect apparently has a very strong kingdom vote, meaning to say they were like the previous Iglesia ni Cristo, that what the founder says, the followers will do,” said Archbishop Emeritus Oscar Cruz.



Cruz added: “How can you violate what the son of God will say? So I presume that the flocking there of candidates is because of the solid bloc vote of, they call themselves, the ‘Kingdom citizens.’”

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Villar tried to buy me out of presidential race - Gordon

Bagumbayan presidential bet Sen. Richard Gordon revealed yesterday that Nacionalista Party (NP) standard-bearer Sen. Manuel Villar Jr. tried to buy him out of the presidential race and promised to give him a Cabinet position of his choice if the latter is elected president.




In a one-on-one interview with broadcaster Mike Enriquez over radio dzBB, Gordon continued his tirade against Villar, saying the NP bet’s attempt at buying him, which occurred a week before Feb. 9 or during the time when Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile presented his report on the C-5 road controversy and was facing an attempt to oust him from the Senate presidency, was witnessed by his son.



But Villar immediately downplayed all of Gordon’s accusations, telling his audience in Surigao that people are out to destroy him. He said he and his entire NP team are geared for victory on May 10, and that he has no time for “negotiating” for the withdrawal of fellow presidential candidates.



Gordon, in the same radio interview, said that Villar’s camp wanted him to back out from the race and support the NP standard-bearer.



“They asked me not to attend the (Senate) session and in return they will pay me and reimburse the expenses in my preparation for the presidency, and promised to give me a Cabinet position of my choice,” Gordon said in Filipino.

Gordon’s disclosure surprised Enriquez, as it came near the end of the one-hour interview designed for presidential candidates.




Enriquez asked Gordon to identify Villar’s emissary but he declined. He, however, insinuated that he would drop another bombshell soon.



He said he was irked by the buy out attempt because it only showed the arrogance of the moneyed candidate.



But Gordon said he is unfazed and vowed to fight on.



During the interview, he also assailed other candidates’ attempt to condition the minds of voters through surveys.



The NP kicked off the Mindanao-leg of their campaign yesterday, promising economic development and improving the human development index in the entire region.



“I am running clean and I have no other intention. I respect the other candidates even if I hear comments like that. Some people probably want to besmirch my reputation. Please don’t believe in those things,” Villar said in an interview.



He noted that it is just two months before elections, and he expects that no presidential candidate would back out at this point.



He also belittled claims that he tapped Mike Velarde to ask Estrada to withdraw from the race.



The NP bet reiterated that he did not talk with any presidential candidate to offer them reimbursement of their poll expenses and promise a good Cabinet position.



Asked why all sorts of criticisms are thrown his way, Villar said it is “good news” because he is being hit since he has become number one in the surveys.



Students from the University of the Philippines (UP) College of Mass Communication (CMC) have “surprisingly and unexpectedly” picked Sen. Richard Gordon in their recent open-source mock polls.



This, even as Gordon had reportedly lambasted journalists covering his sorties.



A survey result conducted by the Department of Journalism, which was released yesterday, showed Gordon garnering a total of 139 votes, representing 37.57 percent of the 370 enrolled students of the CMC, who participated in the mock presidential polls.



The UP-CMC has 1,086 enrolled students.



Administration presidential bet Gilbert Teodoro came in second in the survey with 107 votes (28.92 percent), Benigno Aquino III was third with 48 votes (12.97 percent), and Manuel Villar Jr. placed fourth with 37 votes (10 percent).



Observers were surprised with the result of the Feb. 24 mock polls of students of the premier State University, which has always been known as a bastion of activism.



But former CMC dean Prof. Luis Teodoro believes that the changing population of the CMC could have been a factor, although the way presidential aspirants appear and answer questions in various presidential debates could have also been a significant influence to the decision of the students.



He said that while UP students consider themselves as reform-minded and pro-poor, the results of the presidential mock polls could be an “expression of protest over what is perceived to be popular.”



“The results of the mock polls showed a disconnection between the perceived perception of the students and the perceived perception of the general Filipino voters as shown in the surveys,” he said.



However, Teodoro said that the result could be a signal that candidates would have to take a different approach to convince students, as compared to, for instance, the urban poor voters.



He said students might have chosen Gordon and Teodoro for being “fluently persuasive” or “smooth, smooth talker.”



A lot of student-participants in the mock polls cited the ability of Gordon and Teodoro to articulate their respective specific platform well.



Teodoro added that Aquino’s image may have been stained by the Hacienda Luisita massacre while Villar has to work on his claims of innocence after being implicated in the C5-road extension mess.



He surmised that perhaps the students “are not buying that Villar is the only salvation of the poor or that Aquino is the last hope for reform.”



And despite the seeming bias of UP students on President Arroyo, the journalism professor thinks the students might be seeing “something else” in Teodoro other than his alliance with President Arroyo.



“Or maybe his (Teodoro) looks have something to do with it,” he said, drawing out laugher from the audience.



Nicanor Perlas came in 5th place with 15 votes, representing 4.05 percent of the voter turnout; evangelist Eduardo Villanueva, 6th place with five votes (1.35 percent); Jamby Madrigal with three votes (.81 percent); and former President Joseph Estrada with one vote (.27 percent).



Ang Kapatiran Party standard-bearer, Olongapo City Councilor JC delos Reyes, and Kilusang Bagong Lipunan presidential bet Vetellano Acosta, got zero votes in the mock polls.



Fifteen students, representing 4.05 percent of the total voter turnout, abstained in the presidential survey.



Gordon: Mediamen are useless



Good showing or not, Gordon, who usually bash Senator Villar in his sorties, has trained his guns on mediamen covering his campaign.



In a forum hosted by the students and faculty of the Union Christian College in San Fernando, La Union, Gordon started by hitting the NP standard-bearer then threw cheap shots on “embedded” journalists covering him.



Gordon was ranting on his almost “invisible” presence in the media and was apparently blaming the journalists trailing him in his sorties.



“Kunwari lang na kino-cover kami pero tinitwist nila ang istorya at hindi nila inilalabas ang totoo (They pretend to be covering us but they twist the story and does not come out with the truth),” he said.



The journalists covering him at the school’s covered gym walked out in disgust after Gordon pointed them out to the crowd of students and teachers present.



“May kasama nga akong media pero kunwari lang akong kino-cover (I have mediamen with me but they are just pretending to cover me),” he said.



It was at this point that the reporters, including Mike Frialde of The STAR, stood up and walked out.



“Ayun, iniwan na ako ng media (Now they have left me),” Gordon blurted out.



He had earlier complained about his poor showing in the media and was even quick to refer to members of the press as “Mickey Mouse mediamen” in several forums.



Prior to the incident yesterday, a member of Gordon’s staff revealed that the senator was complaining why even the most trivial of statements made by his opponents are picked-up by media networks while his statements were never picked-up.



A source close to Gordon also revealed the senator had also remarked that, “Walang silbi naman ang mga media na kasama natin, (Mediamen covering him were useless)” prior to his talk at the Union Christian College.



LP hits Villar anew



Meanwhile, the Liberal Party said the allegations of bribery and vote buying against Villar were alarming and should serve as a warning to the people about the kind of administration the NP bet would have if elected president in May.



LP spokesperson and senatorial candidate Akbayan Rep. Risa Hontiveros said the bigger issue involving Villar was not just the handing out of scholarships and P20 but the “pattern of bribery on his part that is large scale.”



Being a senator and former Senate president, Hontiveros said it was disgusting to hear that Villar was on a “bribery spree,” given the revelations of Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile and presidential candidates former President Estrada (of the Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino) and Gordon.



“So our question is, if as a senator and as a former Senate president, he is showing a pattern of bribery that involves big (amounts) and high-ranking (officials), what can you expect but large scale corruption under the Villaroyo administration,” Hontiveros said, referring to the alleged conspiracy and alliance between Villar and the Arroyo administration.



“We have to look at the way he (Villar) has also been trying to buy this whole campaign with the amounts of money being expended for advertising, which according to the PCIJ (Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism) has breached the P1-billion mark,” said LP campaign manager Florencio “Butch” Abad.



He said the funds Villar was utilizing for the campaign could be a product of this conflict of interest and his impunity in the abuse of government authority to make good money out of his businesses.



“Bribery is corruption. There is no doubt that Senator Villar is the richest presidential candidate but for him to assume that he can buy his way to Malacañang and get away with it is severely insulting,” Hontiveros said.

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Gordon hit over allegations vs Villar

The Nacionalista Party (NP) slammed Bagumbayan presidential bet Sen. Richard Gordon yesterday over allegations of unpaid loans by the companies owned by its standard-bearer, Sen. Manuel Villar Jr.


Lawyer Nalen Rosero-Galang, Villar’s chief legal officer, belied the allegations of Gordon, saying the senator from Olongapo has resorted to dirty tactics.

“We categorically deny that Manuela Corporation ever obtained a loan from the Social Security System (SSS). We challenge them to present documents to prove their allegations. We dare them to substantiate their accusations with solid proof,” Galang said in a statement.


Gordon claimed on Tuesday that Villar sent an emissary and offered to reimburse his expenses in the campaign in exchange for his backing out of the race.

He also accused the NP presidential bet during a radio interview of having unpaid loans with the SSS as well as the Pag-IBIG and Home Development Mutual Fund (HDMF).
“This is an ‘ancient’ issue which has been repeatedly answered not only by Senator Villar but also by the government agencies concerned,” Galang countered. “None of the Villar corporations have existing unpaid obligation or undelivered undertaking or commitment to the HDMF.”

She said Villar’s corporations have meticulously observed and complied with all the policies, procedures and documentation required by the HDMF.

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2 dead, 1 hurt in C5 road accident—report

2 people were killed and one was injured when their car

smashed into an electric post along the C5 Ortigas flyover early Saturday, according to a radio report.

Quoting police, radio dzMM identified the fatalities as Ramon Garcia, 28, and the driver of the Audi with plate number PM222; and John Paul Uy, who was at the passenger’s seat.

John Michael Ong, who was seated at the back of the vehicle, survived and was taken to Medical City. All were residing at Valle Verde in Barangay (village) Ugong in Pasig City, the report said.

The report said the accident occurred at 5:20 a.m. Quoting witnesses, the report said the car overtook another vehicle before slamming into the post.

Photos taken by the dzMM reporter on the scene showed Uy’s grief-stricken parents who was said to have rushed to the accident site after having been informed of their son’s death. The bodies of Uy and Garcia were taken to the Quiogue Funeral Homes, the report said.

Police were quoted as saying that the impact was so strong that the engine flew out of the vehicle and landed on a passing taxi. Other parts of the car also littered the highway as shown by the other photos taken by the dzMM reporter.

The accident caused a traffic jam along C5 as police closed the Ortigas flyover to allow authorities to clean up the debris.

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LP bares Villar land controversy

The Liberal Party unleashed Friday a land conversion bomb against Nacionalista Party standard-bearer Senator Manuel Villar.
In a press conference at the Iloilo Golf and Country Club in Sta. Barbara, Iloilo, Former Senate president Franklin Drilon said Villar’s company, Crown Communities Iloilo, bought 12.7 hectares in Jibao-an, Pavia, Iloilo from farmer beneficiaries and converted this first-class irrigated rice land into a residential enclave, Savannah Subdivision.
Drilon said Villar had obtained the go-signal from the Department of Agrarian Reform to convert the agriculture land into a residential area only in 2007, or seven years after the construction of the subdivision started in 2000.
Villar, who was in Tanza, Cavite for a campaign rally Friday shrugged off the latest allegations hurled against him by LP, saying the lands were owned by publicly listed companies which has open books that his critics could check for themselves.
“I don’t know what they are accusing me of again. That’s a lie. As far as I know, there’s a process that is according to law and that is an open transaction. These are public companies. I am surprised by what they are saying. This is part of their demolition job against me. These are public companies. This is open. Anybody can look at this,” said Villar in Filipino following a noontime campaign rally of the NP slate in Cavite.
“The documents here do not lie. Under the law, it is illegal to convert first-class irrigated agricultural land into a subdivision but that’s exactly what Manny Villar did in the Savannah Subdivision development. This is a crime,” Drilon said as he presented tax declarations and other documents obtained from the provincial government. (The son of Iloilo Governor Neil Tupas is running for a seat in May under LP.)
Drilon said Villar used P4 million of his pork barrel funds to build a 585-meter national road that led right into the entrance of Savannah. “This is the only public works project of Villar in the province,” said Drilon at the Iloilo press conference.
He said that Villar, not content with the 12-hectare Savannah property, bought the adjoining rice lands in the area and amassed a total of 250 hectares of land to expand his residential community.
He said the farmers had no choice but to sell their property because their irrigation supply had been cut off with Villar’s conversion of the Savannah property which was the primary source of water in the area.
“Villar destroyed the irrigation canals. They back-filled the canal so they can be classified as non-serviceable,” said Drilon who noted that Villar’s Pavia property value has shot up to P3,500 per square meter from less than P150 per square meter.
“This is what we call C-5 and a half. Regardless if it is only half a kilometer, it shows the lack of decency on the part of the developer, Senator Villar, who simply set aside all interest of the CARP beneficiaries to be able to pursue his business interests. The C-5 controversy is simply a tip [of] the iceberg. It is a pattern we now see. We are aware of other subdivisions all over the country where similar practice was followed,” said Drilon.

With a report from Nikko Dizon, Philippine Daily Inquirer

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Villar seen to get Bro. Mike’s nod.

NACIONALISTA PARTY (NP) standard-bearer Sen. Manuel Villar arrived here Saturday afternoon to meet with Filipino migrants and influential lay Catholic leaders, including Bro. Mariano “Mike” Velarde of the charismatic group El Shaddai.
Villar was to meet with Couples for Christ leader Frank Padilla and other CFC elders Saturday night. On Sunday he is to attend the Chinese New Year celebration of El Shaddai’s Hong Kong chapter.
Shortly before she herself flew to the former Crown Colony, Villar’s running mate, Sen. Loren Legarda, said the two of them were “the only ones invited by Brother Mike.”
Legarda told the Inquirer by phone that Velarde had personally extended the invitation to her and Villar to attend Sunday’s gathering in Hong Kong, which hosts nearly 100,000 Filipino voters.
The gathering is to be held on Chater Road at the central business district, where Filipino domestics congregate on Sundays.
Politicians running for national or local posts always seek the support of religious groups such as El Shaddai and Iglesia ni Cristo, which is known to vote as a bloc during elections.
Long friendship
On the phone with the Inquirer in Manila, Velarde’s spokesperson Mel Robles confirmed that among the presidential candidates, only Villar was invited by the El Shaddai leader to join him at Sunday’s gathering.
Robles, who was also in Hong Kong to take part in the Chinese New Year celebration, left it to Velarde to say whether he would endorse Villar and Legarda.
But he confirmed that among the candidates in past and coming elections, the NP standard-bearer was the closest to Velarde.
Robles, the administrator of the Light Rail Transit Authority, also chairs Buhay, the El Shaddai party-list group.
“Their friendship goes a long, long way. Compared to all others in the past, this one has the longest friendship with him,” Robles told the Inquirer on the phone.
According to Robles, Villar has enjoyed Velarde’s support since he first ran for congressman up to the time he became Speaker of the House of Representatives and Senate President.
Explaining the friendship, Robles said Velarde was one of the pioneers of mass housing in the country, and Villar used to supply sand to his business.
Velarde reportedly ventured into the residential subdivision business in the 1980s after graduating from the University of the East with a degree in geodetic engineering.
Like Villar, Velarde’s property was also deemed to have benefited from the controversial C-5 road extension project. But the Senate decided not to include the politically influential church leader in its investigation.
Verbal, nonverbal clues
In a statement sent to the Inquirer through Robles later Saturday, Velarde confirmed that Villar was the only presidential candidate invited to join him at Sunday’s gathering.
But when asked if he was supporting Villar’s candidacy over the others, Velarde merely said: “We go a long way back and we’re very close friends.”
Short of confirming that his boss was inclined to back Villar, Robles said the invitation for Villar to join Velarde in an El Shaddai event was “out of the ordinary.”
But he added that as a matter of policy, Velarde did not openly endorse candidates but merely gave verbal or nonverbal clues for his flock to “discern” during El Shaddai prayer rallies in Parañaque City close to Election Day.
Robles also said that if there was someone Velarde was “openly and wholeheartedly endorsing,” it would be the Buhay party-list group, of which his son Rene is a representative.
Villar arrived on board a Cathay Pacific flight at around 2:40 p.m. with his wife, Las Piñas Rep. Cynthia Villar.
The senator is expected to attend Mass at the Church of the Annunciation in Tsuen Wan district before having dinner with Padilla and other CFC leaders.
He is to also meet Sunday with leaders of the militant group Migrante before attending the El Shaddai celebration.
Villar’s NP has allied with the militant Makabayan alliance, which has a strong presence in the Filipino community in Hong Kong.
According to Migrante, Hong Kong has one of the highest number of registered voters among overseas Filipino workers, and had the highest voter turnout overseas during the 2004 and 2007 elections.
Loren’s adviser
Legarda disclosed to the Inquirer that it was Velarde himself who had advised her to run with Villar.
“I was consulting him last year on who to run with after Chiz (Sen. Francis Escudero) bolted the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC),” Legarda said.
“Chiz is gone,” she quoted Velarde as saying. “Don’t look too far. You should be with Manny (Villar).”
Escudero had earlier been groomed to be the NPC’s standard-bearer, with Legarda as his running mate. But he backed out at the last minute.
Legarda said she and Velarde meet for lunch almost every month.
“The last time we had lunch together, he was with his daughter and son,” she said.

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Villar : I did no wrong so why should I ask him for help ?

Senator Manny Villar today said he did not approach  Senate President  Juan Ponce Enrile for help on the C-5 road controversy.
“Wala akong hininging tulong at walang ibinigay. No help was asked and none was given, “Villar said.
Villar also belied Enrile’s claim  in a radio interview this morning that  he  offered to  help Enrile with "anything" during one of their meetings about the C-5 road controversy.
Villar said he saw no need  to ask help from Enrile  because “ I was confident that the documents, the records, the witnesses, and the rules  will prove that the C-5 road project was not double-funded, overpriced or rerouted.”
“Bakit ako hihingi ng tulong e hindi naman ako guilty  at wala naman akong ginawang masama ? Lahat ng dokumentong sinubmit  at lahat ng nag-testify sa Senado yan ang sinabi, “ he said.
“But looking back, I thought I was dealing with honorable men who would view things fair and impartially. Nagkamali pala ako,” Villar said, adding that he was “hurt”  by Enrile’s “false story.”
He said the Senate hearing on C-5 controversy was “conceived in malice and was meant to embarrass me so I will not be a factor in these elections.”
“Nagsimula ito ng umakyat ako sa surveys. Nang gumaganda ratings ko, pumapangit naman ang mga atake nila sa akin ,” Villar said referring to his  steady climb in  the surveys, with a scant eight points separating him and frontrunner Sen. Noynoy Aquino of Liberal Party per  one recent poll.

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Villar allies no-show in Senate, stall vote on ethics rap

Allies of Senator Manny Villar were a no-show on Wednesday when the Senate resumed its session to discuss and probably vote on the ethics committee complaint that was filed against him.
Only 11 senators showed up at the session hall, not enough to conduct business.
Senate President Juan Ponce-Enrile, who presided over the session, said the absence of the opposition group in the Senate was an "attempt" to prevent the disposition of the C-5 road project controversy.
"Some members opted not to attend the session to prevent the disposition of this matter," he further said.
Because of lack of quorum, Senate Majority Floor Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri then moved for the adjournment of the session but was stopped by Senator Ana Consuelo "Jamby" Madrigal.
Madrigal is the complainant in the ethics case filed against Villar, who allegedly used his position to benefit from the road project.
Madrigal invoked the rules of the committee, which would allow the Senate leader to order the arrest of the absent senators.
But Enrile rejected Madrigal's motion, saying he will like to be compassionate to colleagues.
Zubiri moved for the adjournment of the session.
Congress will resume session on May 31.

Source: Inquirer.net

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Manny Villar

Political Party

NP

Status

Decided

Hometown

Moriones, Tondo, Manila

Short Description

The public life of Manny Villar straddles both the worlds of business and politics. He is one of the few who managed to excel in both.

Civil Status

Married

Gender

Male

Nationality

Filipino

Birthday

December 13, 1949

Spouse

Cynthia A. Villar

Children

Profession

Businessman, Politician

Company

Philippines

Religion

Roman Catholic

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About Manny Villar

The public life of Manny Villar straddles both the worlds of business and politics. He is one of the few who managed to excel in both.

Working Student

He was born to a simple family in Moriones, Tondo, Manila. His father, Manuel Montalban Villar, Sr., a government employee, hailed from Cabatuan, Iloilo and his mother Curita Bamba, a seafood dealer, came from Pampanga and Bataan. Manny is the second child in a brood of nine. At a very young age, he was already helping his mother sell shrimp and fish in the Divisoria Market. With the burning desire for a better future and a strong determination to improve his family’s living conditions, Manny worked hard in selling shrimps and fish to be able to send himself to school.

“I learned from my mother what it takes to be an entrepreneur,” he revealed. “And it means working really hard to achieve your dreams.” In Divisoria, he marveled at the volume of sales that Chinese merchants were making, thus he vowed early on to become an entrepreneur.

Hard work, persistence, and perseverance became his guiding principles in life. This earned him the title “Mr. Sipag at Tiyaga.”

He continues to inspire Filipinos with his life story and encourages each and every kababayan to improve their quality of life and fulfill their dreams through the very values he believes in -- “sipag at tiyaga.”

Entrepreneur

Manny Villar was a working student at the University of the Philippines, the premier institution of higher learning in the country, where he obtained his undergraduate and master’s degree in business administration and accountancy. By then, he was also putting in long hours as a fish and shrimp trader, where the action starts at the ungodly hours of the morning when the catch lands in the market.

After graduation, he tried his hand as an accountant at the country’s biggest accounting firm, Sycip Gorres Velayo & Co. (SGV & Co). He resigned shortly though to venture on his own seafood delivery business.

When a restaurant he was delivering stocks to did not pay him, he printed out “meal tickets” which he persuaded the restaurant owners to honor. He then sold these tickets at a discounted price to office workers. It took him one year to liquidate his receivables.

He worked briefly as a financial analyst at the Private Development Corporation of the Philippines. His job was to sell World Bank loans, despite the attractive rates of which there were no takers. Convinced that he could make it on his own again, he quit his job and promptly availed of one of the loans.

So with an initial capital of P10,000 in 1975, Villar purchased two reconditioned trucks and started his sand-and-gravel business in Las Piñas.

Housing Innovator

It is here while delivering construction materials to big developers that Manny Villar came up with the idea of selling house and lot packages when the convention then was for homeowners to buy lots and build on them.

Manny Villar became the housing industry leader, and the biggest homebuilder in Southeast Asia, having built more than 100,000 houses for the poor and middle class Filipino families.

He then initiated mass housing projects to achieve economies of scale. His various innovations practically created the country’s mass housing industry. The Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism calls him “the dean of the (Philippine) real estate industry.”

Awards and Distinctions

For his business achievements, he was made cover story in the Far Eastern Economic Review. And his life story was also featured in Asiaweek, Forbes, AsiaMoney and Asian Business Review.

He garnered various awards such as the Ten Outstanding Young Men Award (1986) by the Philippine Jaycees, Agora Award for Outstanding Achievement in Marketing Management (1989), Most Outstanding CPA by the Philippine Institute of Certified Public Accountants (1990) and Most Outstanding UP Alumnus (1991).

Through the years, universities and colleges all over the country have conferred upon Villar honorary degrees in various fields in recognition of his exemplary performance in public service, his pioneering initiatives and innovations that revolutionalized the country’s mass housing and real estate industry, and his distinct role in the enactment of economic and social reform laws that are vital in sustaining the country’s economic momentum and improvement of the lives of Filipinos, particularly the cause of small and medium enterprises.

Among these universities and colleges that have bestowed Honoris Causa to Villar are: Adamson University, Doctor of Science; Bataan Polytechnic State College, Doctor of Humanities; Bulacan State University, Doctor of Humanities; Cagayan State University, Doctor of Humanities; Central Luzon State University, Doctor of Humanities; Foundation University (Dumaguete), Doctor of Humanities; Laguna State Polytechnic College, Doctor of Humanities and Entrepreneurship; Pangasinan State University, Doctor of Development Management; Nueva Ecija University of Science and Technology, Doctor of Business Administration; Ramon Magsaysay Technological University, Doctor of Entrepreneurial Management; Romblon State College, Doctor of Humanities; Tarlac State University, Doctor of Public Administration; Wesleyan University-Philippines, Doctor of Humanities; and Western Visayas College of Science and Technology, Doctor of Technology in Entrepreneurial Management.

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Manny Villar's Political Career

Political Career

In a stunning political debut in 1992, Villar won with the most overwhelming mandate among congressmen in Metro Manila. He promptly applied his economic and managerial expertise as a key member of the House’s economic team, marshalling in economic reform measures of the Ramos Administration such as the New Foreign Investments Act and the restructuring of the Central Bank of the Philippines. He was the House representative in the government’s negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington D.C. in 1992.

He also oversaw various infrastructure projects in his districts like the construction of concrete roads and the Alabang-Zapote Flyover. He introduced the “Friendship Route” to ease the traffic problems in southern Manila by persuading subdivision homeowners to open up their roads to the general public.

He succeeded in passing Republic Act 8003 “Declaring Certain Areas in Las Piñas as Tourist Spots.” The law formalized his program of rehabilitating historical and cultural landmarks in Las Piñas starting with the world-famous Bamboo Organ Church. The ongoing project dubbed as “Las Piñas Historical Corridor” covers the stretch of the Old District and may even rival the Intramuros and Vigan restoration projects.

A staunch environmentalist, he initiated a privately funded tree planting drive in his district. He developed a P10-million tree nursery beside his home. He also quietly led a dedicated tree-planting drive complete with maintenance and watering of tree seedlings planted in the open spaces of the community.

When he realized that many poor students could not go to school because they do not even have fare money, he organized the “Manpower on Wheels” Program, a livelihood training school housed in a van that makes the rounds in depressed areas. The program has since produced more than 5,000 graduates and has been awarded by various government and civic organizations for its innovative scheme.

During his first term, he steered Las Piñas and Muntinlupa to cityhood. He pointed out: “As a developer, I have always envisioned these two communities as the ‘Twin Cities of the South’ of Manila. In fact, Las Piñas and Muntinlupa are the two fastest growing communities in the country today.”

For his constituency work and personal vow, he extended grants of home sites to some 10,000 poor families in Barangay CAA, Las Piñas City. Two major roads were also opened in his district: the Sucat-Pulanglupa Link Road to Parañaque and the Zapote-Molino (Daang Hari) Link Road to Cavite, thus alleviating the traffic congestion in the area.

During his second term, he was able to upgrade the Las Piñas District Hospital with a new building and better facilities. He also launched the “Sagip-Bukas” Drug Prevention Program on all the private and public schools of Las Piñas to educate the youth about the dangers of drug abuse. He also nationalized the Las Piñas High School to upgrade its facilities.

By the end of his second term of office, Villar had already proven beyond doubt his capacity for excellence as a true Filipino entrepreneur and a brilliant public servant who can get things done.

Champion for Entrepreneurs

In 1995, Manny Villar ran for re-election and won an unprecedented 142,000 votes, the highest number of votes for a congressman in the entire country. Winning media acclaim as an outstanding congressman as well as the respect and recognition of his peers, he was elected to chair the Committee on Entrepreneurship.

As one of the leading entrepreneurs in the country, he championed the cause of small and medium-sized enterprises. He authored and passed into law the landmark New Magna Carta for Small and Medium Enterprises (RA 8289). He initiated creative legislation such as the establishment of the Small and Medium Enterprises Stock Exchange and Business One-Stop-Shop centers, the latter he immediately implemented in Las Piñas City with the help of local officials.

Speaker of the House

It was no surprise then to those in the know when he gained the remarkable acclaim of 171 of 220 congressmen as the Speaker of the 11th Congress of the House of Representatives.

In a time when the country is slowly recovering from a host of economic and political crises, the election of the ‘brown taipan’ at the helm of Congress signaled a watershed event in the Philippine political history. The rise of Manny Villar ushered in a new consensus of leadership based on managerial skills and not simply on oratory and rhetoric.

By his first year in office, Villar undertook three pathbreaking reforms. He succeeded in marshalling consensus in the House to reform the ‘pork barrel’ system by limiting congressional discretion projects to the set parameters of the Executive’s development policies. Secondly, he launched a revamp of leadership by appointing at least seven neophyte congressmen to head powerful committees like ecology and banks. Finally, he set a strong and principled stance on environment protection legislation with the passage of the “Clean Air Act,” a measure that for more than ten years and three previous congresses were not able to pass.

On his second year in office, Manny Villar steered the 11th Congress into a record-breaking achievement in legislation and economic reforms. Among the pioneering measures he shepherded into law were the Retail Trade Liberization Act, the New Central Bank Act, the New Securities Code, and the New Banking Act.

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Manny Villar

Senator of the Republic

In the national elections held last May 14, 2001, despite being a relative newcomer in national politics, Manny Villar posted one of the most impressive showings in the national polls. On his first day in office, he filed 204 bills covering a comprehensive legislative program of action— the first among neophyte senators and the third highest filer among the senators of the 12th Congress of the Philippines.

After being elected by his colleagues, he assumed the position of Senate President Pro-Tempore, the second to the highest post in the higher Chamber of Congress. He is presently the Chairman of the Committee on Finance that is in charge of all deliberations and discussions on the national budget of the country and the Committee on Public Order and Illegal Drugs. He is also the Vice Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Relations and Committee on Agriculture. He authored 44 laws during the 12th Congress, among them are: RA 9178 Barangay Micro Business Enterprises Act, RA 9189 Overseas Absentee Voting Act, RA 9208 Anti-Trafficking of Persons Act, RA 9257 An Act Granting Additional Benefits and Privileges to Senior Citizens, and RA 9262 Anti-Violence Against Women and their Children Act. He has filed Bills aimed at providing business opportunities for the people and improving the Filipinos’ quality of life through basic health care, decent shelters, responsive social services, and high quality education.

Outside the Senate’s halls, Villar actively sponsors the Sipag at Tiyaga Caravan Kaalaman, a livelihood training program that provides skills and inspiration to people that will allow them to venture into their own businesses. The caravan travels all over the country conducting livelihood seminars that are consistently widely attended and appreciated.

He has also spearheaded the building of schools, sending out medical missions and setting up relief operations whenever or wherever needed. He led the inauguration of the Las Piñas-Muntinlupa-Laguna-Cavite (LPMLC) link road, more popularly known as Daang Hari, as part of his road improvement program aimed at easing traffic in the south of Metro Manila. According to him, an efficient and rationalized road network is one of the fundamental requirements in improving commerce and spurring economic progress.

In February 2004, he was elected as President of the Nacionalista Party—the country’s oldest and grandest political party. He was also named the Most Distinguished UP Alumnus—the highest recognition given by the UP Alumni Association—for his exemplary public service and achievements.

Senator Manny Villar, despite his numerous accomplishments and heroism, has remained simple and unaffected. A true family man, he is a devoted husband to Congresswoman Cynthia A. Villar (Lone District of Las Piñas), and a loving father to sons Paolo and Mark and daughter Camille.

source : MannyVillar.com.ph

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