Unequivocal Reasons We Should Vote for Villar
I have been on a meticulous research of the presidentiables' profiles to aid me in my quest for a leader who shall alleviate us from the abject plight we have been whimsically and intentionally subjected to. It took me quite a task since I have to be glued to tri-media communications and internet surfing for three weeks to arrive at my findings. In congruent with the latest surveys, Sen. Manny Villar emerged as having the best qualities that will probably let our memory of the GMA legacy be lost in oblivion. To this, I pose this inevitable question: why should we vote for Sen. Manny Villar? Here are the unequivocal reasons:
1) Villar exudes sincerity and honesty. In every interview of any of the presidentiables on national television shows whether taped or impromptu, he is the only one who looks straight into the eyes of his listener and talk directly without faltering or mincing words. Maintaining eye contact, according to psychologists, conveys a person's sincerity, credibility and honesty. In the controversial C5 road said to have benefitted his real estate corporations, defending himself was not such a great effort -- the words he uttered just come matter-of-factly. I would have wanted to believe the accusations hurled against him by his co-senators Panfilo Lacson and Jamby Madrigal but both have failed miserably in the integrity arena. They are themselves deep into controversial issues bolstered by numerous witnesses lined-up against them. Further, they have presidential ambitions (to date, Lacson withdrew most probably to downplay the Dacer-Corbito murder case) and theirs are just one of those political strategies to thwart the soaring ratings of Villar.
2) Villar consistently advocates entrepreneurship. In one of his discussions with bloggers (Santos.PH, 7/18/09), he opined that the Philippines is more of an employee-producing nation but unfortunately, it is the foreign countries and their investors who take advantage of this. He proposes that we turn the tables and have a take on our cake too. I agree with him that instead of Filipinos seeking greener pastures abroad, leaving grieving families behind and suffering abuses at the hands of foreign employees, shaping Philippines into having a self-reliant economy and well-salaried local employees is not an insensible and far-fetched goal. Imbibing entrepreneurship is the key. We should learn from Japan wherefore it suffered total economic and social upheaval at the aftermath of the World War II, the Japanese government then closed its doors from external assistance and influence but instead gambled and focused on its internal human and natural resources. Today, she belongs to the list of First World countries.
3) Villar is undisputably the most-liked presidentiable. Whenever I ask friends, relatives, neighbors and even strangers alike about their take on the presidentiables, their answers are: mostly will vote for Villar, several are for Chiz Escudero, a number for Ping Lacson, Mar Roxas, Bayani Fernando, Jejomar Binay, none ever for Noli De Castro, Loren Legarda, former president Joseph Estrada, Richard Gordon, Gilbert Teodoro. When I query the non-Villar supporters why they will not vote for him, the unanimous reply is: that Villar is also good but they prefer this candidate because he is young and dynamic, this other candidate can solve the peace and order problem so on and so forth. On the other hand, if I ask the Villar supporters why they will not vote for this and that presidentiable, the unanimous remark is: Villar has so far shown in words and in deeds that he is the most qualified presidentiable while the others have merely talked and talked and talked (with wild declarations of negative remarks). I took note of the fact that the non-Villar supporters do not elucidate with any devastating criticisms against him, just "he is also good."
4) Villar is already endowed with so much wealth. Being the richest Filipino elected official and having derived his wealth from his own sweat, blood and tears, he will most likely be an incorruptible president. As he has proffered in one of his interviews, he has no political or campaign fund donors. At least, we can surmise and be assured of the lobbyists being turned down, the politicians dealt with empty-handed and the military left unpampered. His wife is equally the richest representative in the Lower House. We have yet to see her tailing behind her husband's guest appearances or hear her pronouncing her husband's innocence on the C5 controversy. We see independency from each other's profession. This is a welcome respite. The one thing that has tremendously tainted and maligned the administrations of Marcos and the GMA was/is is the seeming shameless greed for wealth and power sought by their respective marital partners, Imelda Marcos and Mike Arroyo. The former was mentioned in the Guiness Book of World records for her Imeldific shoes and luxuries, and the latter for the strings of scams he is always involved with as confessed by several witnesses.
5) Villar is the most prolific senator in the 14th Congress. Dr. Ebinezer Florano, Chair of the Master of Public Management Program of UP Open University has outlined that a look into the Senate versions of the 21 Republic Acts approved by both Houses of Congress and duly signed by the President of the Philippines during the 14th Congress may provide answers regarding the senators' productivity . The RAs’ legislative history in the Senate reveals that Villar, who authored and co-authored ten (10) original bills that eventually became laws, has the best record in seeing bills to fruition. He is followed by Ejercito-Estrada, with nine (9); Enrile with eight (8); and Angara, Legarda, Revilla, and Zubiri with seven (7) each. Biazon and Gordon have five (5) each; Pia Cayetano, Defensor-Santiago, Escudero, Lapid, and Roxas have four (4) each; Pimentel and Trillanes have three (3) each; Aquino, Alan Peter Cayetano, and Honasan have two (2)
each; and Pangilinan has one (1). Arroyo, Lacson, and Madrigal have none (0) (The Forum,May -June 2009).
6) Villar has an aggressive political will. This kind of character in a public official being referred to as the desire and determination of political actors to introduce as well as embark on reforms that will bring significant and persistent changes in the society was very much manifested when by his first year in public 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 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 (entrepinoyster.com). Admittedly, he cannot be the first post-war public official who became both Speaker of the House of Representatives and Senate President if he does not have the qualities of a true statesman. His having ruled both Houses bespeaks of the reverence accorded to him by his contemporaries.
7) Villar is truly a family man. In the worldwide acclaimed top tv noontime show Wowowee, where the senator and his daughter Camille once guested, one could see the love and care between them. I also did not miss to notice how such a modest and unassuming Camille is and ditto for her two siblings whom bloggers sized up in a breakfast interview with Villar as being grounded, idealistic and above all, normal (Chuvaness.com, 7/17/09). The old adage says that the true reflection of a person is how he fared as a familyman. Notwithstanding also that no other presidentiable has shown on national television the same attention that we see in Villar gives to his children (just as the much-loved U.S. President Obama shows to the American and the worlwide public his pure love and care for his little girls). I really pity Mikey, Dato and Luli whenever they struggle in finding the right words defending their parents from corruption charges time to time. Undeniably, Villar will not have the courage to subject his children to humiliation and discomfort if and when he performs less than we expect him to be.
The other presidentiables non-arguably and not surprisingly failed to excite and induce me to think of them as possible replacement of GMA. Here are what I can bravely and bluntly say about some of the top contenders:
Chiz Escudero. Maybe he is motivated by the notion that the youth (18-40) has the greater bulk of the voting public thus, being in that age range will spell victory for him. A lot says it is his fresh vigor and dynamism that will save us from the pit of nowhere. However, said vigorism and dynamism are only manifested in the way he 'speedtalks' in Filipino when interviewed. Yes, he talks sensibly and really catches the attention of any listener but, Escudero is just that---all talks and nothing else. In the study laid out in The Forum, based on 14the Congress figures, the number one senator in terms of sponsorship and co-sponsorship is Escudero (37 bills). Impressive but Dr. Florano puts more equation on the senators' ability to enact into laws the bills authored or sponsored. This figure, instead of the number of bills authored or sponsored, is a more reliable gauge of a senator’s convincing power, active participation, and persistence in legislating laws.
It also reflects the bill’s urgency and relevance. In this arena, only 4 bills were contributed by Escudero (Sen. Zubiri, a fellow neophyte, is better with 7 bills. Villar is the highest with 10 bills).
Noli de Castro. It is a tremendous dismay that he was elected into office because of his reporting stint in a major network. To this day, I still have to know what he does as a vice-president that the Filipinos will have to vote for him for the highest position in the land. He has his pet projects, the PAG-IBIG members' and the OFWs welfare but Villar outshines him in these aspects. The latter is the one who started the low-cost housing even before he entered politics and is manifestly helping now displaced and abused OFWs from his own pocket.
In the times that we needed him to make a stand regarding the numerous scandals and scams alike that the Arroyo administration has been involved with, he was either abroad on an official capacity or he issued statements which were vague as to his true opinions. All his infomercials have the big photos of GMA hanging on the background conspicouusly seen. One thing is definite though --- he is both a coward and a puppet. I dread the idea that when he becomes president, he will cower at the mere voices of his political allies, the military officials, the IMF and World Bank creditors, the American counterparts.
Sen. Mar Roxas. This is one presidentiable I place one notch lower than Villar. He is productive, articulate, well-educated, incorruptible, good-natured. But I guess, what I have to say about him is now moot and academic for he has already withdrawn from the race.
Sec. Gilbert Teodoro. He is a bar topnotcher, good-looking and quite a man in the action however, his being every inch a Danding Cojuanco nephew (his mother is a sister of Danding) makes me writhe at the thought of having him as a president. Presumably, he will be protecting both GMA and Cojuanco's interests when he becomes president (God forbids!). The latter's workmanship of having a big take in Malacanang divulges telltale signs from the time of Marcos until now. Remember he once almost threw his hat to the presidency. Actually, either Chiz Escudero or Sec. Teodoro winning in 2010 is victory for him. But under the presidency of Villar, he cannot be a spoiled brat. As what Sen. Allan Cayetano conveyed regarding Villar's opinion about possible compromise with other political parties: “Even just after 2007, when we joined [the Genuine Opposition], he told us that even from a political, business or economic point of view, a small company cannot merge with a big one because he’s going to eat you.” (Philippine Daily Inquirer, 9/13) This definitely does not spare the likes of Danding Cojuanco, Lucio Tan, et. al.
On the one hand, Sec. Teodoro is a latecomer in the national political scene. Obviously, his appointment as a cabinet member is a stepping stone to his presidential ambition. Even a political idiot would be able to deduce that GMA's accommodation of him sprung from a mutual understanding purposely for their own vested pursuits or gains. And he has not done anything for the country that would stand out as commendable.
Sen. Noynoy Aquino. I had thought of him as a would- be good president as being himself an unobjectionable and incorruptible public servant. Undoubtedly, having parents as the most-loved political figures of the country spells almost a sweet victory for him. I, for one, is almost tempted to go for him. But we must come to our better senses. We need more than a Noynoy Aquino. We need someone who is not just incorruptible but also productive, competent and most important, someone who can deliver us from the predicament we are faced today. Surprisingly, the Villar supporters I have beforehand interviewed remained unfazed. They still believe Villar is the best choice come 2010. My son, who is going to vote for the first time next year, also firmly believes.
I must put forth that I am not a paid Villar supporter. I have been apolitical after the Marcos administration for I thought then that my vote would still come to naught. However, current times have been pressing. It is hard to keep to one's self what ought to be said and be heard.
