Villar in the hot seat

Sen. Manuel Villar (Nacionalista Party), who is expected to run for president of the republic in 2010, is in the public eye for charges of unethical behavior brought against him by Sen. Jamby Madrigal, who has recently brought to light evidence that the former has personally benefited from a public works project.

Apparently, Villar owns or is part of real estate corporations in Las Piñas and Parañaque that, according to the case against him, gained from government projects through his actions as a senator.

The full story of the Senate case against Villar is found here. To give you the highlights:

Madrigal’s evidence purported to show that:

• Villar caused the realignment of the C-5 road extension project to benefit properties owned by his corporations;
• Villar is in a conflict-of-interest position for failure to divest himself of his interests in corporations whose properties were acquired by the government for road right-of-way for the Las Piñas-Parañaque road;
• He made an insertion of P200 million in the General Appropriations Act for 2008 though the project was already covered by an appropriation for the same amount in the same law.

- Inquirer.net, 25 May 2009

These are very serious accusations, and could cause Villar to be the first Philippine senator ever to be suspended or even removed from the Upper House. As Inquirer.net points out, Villar is the first of the “presidentiables” to be put on the spot. And so it begins.

What’s frustrating is how politicians tend to muddle issues by citing technicalities in their defense. Instead of directly answering Madrigal’s allegations, Villar has opted to hide behind his title — as if being a senator of the realm means one is above the law — to try and confuse the voting public. Why doesn’t Villar come out with the facts? Did he or did he not benefit from the government contracts covering the abovementioned government projects?

Villar snubbed the Senate and did not show up for the adjudicatory hearing, thereby foregoing the opportunity to clear his name. Turning around, he lambasted his fellows and the institution that he belongs to, claiming he would be found guilty. Isn’t this rather miserable, to have a senator expressing non-confidence for the Senate?

Instead, Villar has brought the issue to the public forum by using the media to his advantage. Will this move help his bid to hold the highest office in the land? But the real question is, will the truth of the issue at hand see the light of day?

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