‘Most Eligible Bachelorette’ Camille Villar on C-5, Imee, Kris, Chris Tiu, Bro. Eddie, Erap & her dad’s singing

“Life is cyclical, it’s not good to be mean when you’re up there, sometimes you’re down also. I believe people shouldn’t be mean to others,” says Camille Villar.

MANILA, Philippines – During a charity art project in the lobby of Congress late last year organized by Quezon City Councilor Winnie Castelo and wife Precious, special guest Quezon City Vice-Mayoral candidate Joy Belmonte-Alimurung in her speech described one of the VIPs in the audience as “the Philippines’ most eligible bachelorette.” This person is none other than self-made billionaire Senator Manny Villar’s only daughter and Ateneo-educated executive in their family’s realty business, Camille Aguilar Villar.

Times that try men’s souls

REACTING to Wednesday’s headline about Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile’s claim that Sen. Manny Villar tried to bribe him to go easy on the investigation of the C-5 project, some observers asked, not without some humor, just how does one multi-billionaire bribe another multi-billionaire? It’s no secret that the Senate President is perhaps as rich as Villar, so, assuming his story is true, it couldn’t have been money he was being bribed with, said the pundits. Probably Villar promised to help him keep his Senate seat.

It’s politics, not Ethics

More credibility, probably, would attach to the Senate committee report on its so-called “investigations” into the C-5 road project controversy if senators — most politicos, actually — were not widely perceived as being distinctly unshy, brazen even, about using their considerable power to influence government decisions on public works and procurement. That said, I would certainly give great weight to the C-5 allegations being leveled at Senator Villar if I were satisfied that they were true. I am not.

The Senate, Senator Villar, and the 2010 elections

Last year the Senate by a majority vote of 12 members signed a resolution absolving Senator Villar of unethical conduct as alleged by his accusers in the Senate.

Then now, suddenly, Senate President Enrile as chairman of the Senate committee of the whole, drafted a report recommending the censure of Villar and asking him to reimburse the Government of P6 billion plus. This report is still being debated, in the adsence of Senator Villar. .

The Garchitorena land scam

The implementation of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) during the term of President Cory Aquino was rocked by a number of scandals. One of the most notorious was the Garchitorena land scam.

President Aquino was accused of knowing about the deal at least one month before it was exposed in Congress. She was also linked to the financier behind the deal, a family friend who played a key role in Aquino’s campaign against Marcos in Bicol.

The scam involved the 1,888-hectare Garchitorena estate in Camarines Sur, a former abaca plantation that was no longer useful for cultivation. The government nearly bought it in 1989 for P62.7 million.

How the Cojuangcos got majority control of Hacienda Luisita

When the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) was implemented in Hacienda Luisita in 1989, the farm workers’ ownership of the hacienda was pegged at 33%, while 67% was retained by the Cojuangcos.

The 33-67 split was based on the valuation of the capital each party injected into the new company. The farm workers’ capital, made up of the hacienda’s 4,915.75 hectares of land, was valued at P197 million (P40,000 per hectare). The Cojuangcos’ capital, made up of non-land assets, was valued at P394 million. The ratio of P197 million to P394 million is 33:67.

A sign Villar is gaining: Foes ganging up on him

BINABATO: Just by the way the big boys on the other side of the fence have been ganging up on him, it is obvious that Sen. Manny Villar, Nacionalista Party presidential bet, is rising fast in the surveys and on the campaign trail.

Everybody, including survey frontrunner Sen. Noynoy Aquino, Liberal Party presidential candidate, appears threatened by Villar’s surge. The LP camp has joined the gang war against Villar.

Sabi nga nila, ang punong hitik sa bunga ay siyang mas madalas binabato. (The tree most heavy with fruit is stoned most often.)

Noynoy and Future Cronies

It is hardly surprising that members of the Makati Business Club should cheer “Noynoy”. He is their candidate. But to say “he is not the meek and mild pushover type” is not what worries intelligent voters. He may be a ferocious bulldog but against whom will he train his ferocity is the question? Two candidates, Sen. Manuel Villar and Sen. Richard Gordon have both zeroed in on his lackluster legislative performance.

Many share this opinion of Aquino. It is worrying that big business has chosen a candidate who has nothing to show to prove his acumen or capacity to lead in critical times when leadership, is most needed.

Cory’s land reform legacy to test Noynoy’s political will

This week the country commemorates the tragic shooting of protesting farmers on January 22, 1987, an incident better known as the Mendiola massacre. Along with the Hacienda Luisita massacre of November 16, 2004, these two incidents represent the darker side of the Aquino legacy.

Dolphy on Manny Villar