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.