Why Villar is up and Noynoy is down

As the presidential race enters its last laps, and poll surveys notwithstanding, I maintain that it’s going to be a five-way fight among the candidates: Senators Manuel Villar and Benigno Aquino III, former President Joseph Estrada, former Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro and Senator Richard Gordon.

I’ve been a journalist for over half a century. I know that in our kind of politics, one day makes a lot of difference. After all, politics is the art of the possible. There are just too many imponderables.

Villar denies being Arroyo’s ’secret candidate’

Nationalista Party standard bearer Senator Manuel Villar Jr. on Saturday denied that he was the “secret candidate” of the administration and that he met with First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo at the house of Mike Defensor on January 7, as contained in several text messages now circulating among the public.

“Hindi ko pa nakikita si First Gentleman at ang Presidente, hindi pa kami nag-uusap since na ako ay natanggal sa pagkapangulo ng Senado,” Villar told reporters before his speech at the national convention of Philippine Guardians Brotherhood Inc (PGBI) held at the Tarlac State University.

SCTex was Gloria’s gift to Aquinos

The Tarlac portion of the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTex) was one of President Arroyo’s ways of expressing her gratitude to the Cojuangco-Aquinos who helped her grab power unconstitutionally from then sitting President Joseph Estrada in 2001.

This was disclosed by Tribune sources yesterday.

Rep. Crispin “Boying” Remulla distributed copies of a Bases Conversion Development Authority (BCDA) check for P50 million, representing a government downpayment for the overpriced road right of way (RoW) for the raw land in Hacienda Luisita, the property of the Aquino-Cojuangco clan in Tarlac.