Comments on: Senator Manny Villar’s stand on environmental issues and other concerns

By: PilipinoPoAko

PilipinoPoAko — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 06:54:07 +0000

HOW, REALLY, DID MANUEL BAMBA VILLAR JR. GET TO BE RICH? It bears to investigate and it can serve the Filipino nation well to know that Manny Villar may actually have broken through from Tondo-ragged accountant to billionaire-rich presidentiable by allowing himself to be used as a foreign investor’s dummy in the Philippine real estate business. You see, the conduct of real estate business in the Philippines is made exclusive by law to Filipino citizens, necessarily because its affairs involve sensitive issues affecting civil rights, territory, sovereignty, patrimony, and national security. Wasn’t that a debonair American who was smilingly visible every day at the offices of Crown Asia Inc. way back before the Villars became political aspirants? Unfortunately, sighting American presence at the Crown Asia Inc. organization deteriorates to zero visibility in hot election weather, especially nowadays! As Manny Villar embarked on a political career, it strategically became imperative to avoid flaks of damaging controversy about being financially beholden to foreign influence, especially from nationalist camps of the likes of then Senator Teofisto Guingona Jr. who was one among legislators instrumental in passing general law limiting real estate business in the Philippines to Filipinos only. In fact, it was from 1997 to 1999 that the bespectacled, middle-aged, happy American investor (silent? fronted? non-express? implied?) of Crown Asia Inc. was last regularly observed at the 18th Floor of Cityland Herrera Tower. Apart from being born with a silver spoon, most of us often have “humble”, sometimes “rotten”, beginnings; yet being transparent about such beginnings can do even more good than harm. The answer may go as far back as Villar’s auditing days at internationally-patronized Sycip Gorres Velayo (SGV) or, perhaps, good Senator Manuel Villar would like to comment on the matter at this time?

By: honey grace

honey grace — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 05:19:46 +0000

hi,
kumusta ang buhay ng mayaman na manny villar…………………… ikaw ay isang manloloko sabi mo sa kanta mo na tunay kang mahirap pero mayaman ka pala. pag may project mayroon kang 10% sa ilang projects sa government

Hi Honey Grace! Hindi po ako si Manny Villar.

By: alyssandra g. acayen

alyssandra g. acayen — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 04:14:13 +0000

VILLAR ANO PO BANG GAGAWIN NYO ?PARA SA MAHIHIRAP REPLY NYO PO Hi, Alyssandra, I'm sorry, pero hindi po ako si Manny Villar. You can reach him through his official website here.

By: rosing

rosing — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 01:21:30 +0000

how could he manage the whole country when he’s not able to do it in his own company…a lot of occupants in his developed??? subdivision complained for such a long time about flooding, insufficient water supply…substandard materials being used…etc…and yet no actions taken…magtanong kayo sa mga naninirahan sa kanyang subdivision …bigyan namang pansin kahit ang maliit na bagay na ‘to..

I’m a tiny little blog. Buti kung dumaan dito si Manny Villar.

By: hxayin laisium

hxayin laisium — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 12:30:34 +0000

no,,, i wont vote manny villar bec. i know that he currupt all the people that living here,,, which his commercial..he only do that so all people will vote him ,, but me i will not vote manny villar.. i know that he is not good to ba a president…. i know that the best and good person taht can be sit in the president.. is only “NONOY AQUINO”

Okay. It’s Noynoy, by the way.

By: wilson chua

wilson chua — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 02:38:28 +0000

I respect that you support manny villar, although his brother is a friend of my dad and some of my relatives are also friends of the aguilar clan (my aunt’s husband is a relative of cynthia aguilar), I was truly not impressed on how he handled his senate presidency. At a huge amount of expenses he has during this campaign, many believe that he will eventually get back this amount of money if ever he wins. Many businessmen in the real estate industry and political commentators believes that his company will surely benefit from the “murang pabahay” project and that “ghost biddings” be the way of his government to make money. Especially that he has been implicated in the C5 project insertion to benefit his company in the right of way issue, many more will surely hound him. I also am not sure if his real estate developments will benefit more filipinos especially that the environment will be sacrificed. I saw some places in which his company cut down long standing trees to make way for subdivisions that are until now still uninhabited. Many also fear that the philippines will be a “country of concrete” (subdivisions) but can no longer feed itself since agricultural lands are converted to private properties. Kung sabagay….marami naman daw syang friends who will benefit since they are involved in importation of rice and other food products. We will end up being the No. 1 food importer in the world. He also dindnt have a good stand in population control and I am not sure on whether he has submitted a bill to improve education. I am not expecting you to post this nor delete it but we are happy to state our point. But to balance the equation, I support his crusade to promote entrepreneurship among the youth and being a good friend to people who knew him personally.

Hi Wilson,

Thank you for your comments; I appreciate them very much. Let me make myself clear: I have not indicated my support of Manny Villar for president. I am merely reporting to you the results of my talk with him at Bo’s, when I discussed with him some environmental issues that were close to my heart. I have not yet decided who to support for president. Senator Villar is one of two political aspirants with whom I’ve met; the other is Senator Kiko Pangilinan, although I did not meet him in the context of candidate as much as it was in the context of blogger to blogger shooting the breeze.

I think a lot of what you’ve mentioned is, to be honest, hearsay. We assume he will make his money back in corruption if and when he is in power (as if he needed to, being one of the Philippines’ top billionaires). We assume we will end up being the No.1 food importer in the world because you assume he will support his friends who import rice and other products. These doomsday predictions are, quite frankly, gossip; they’re based on assumption and third-party information. Unless these “many people,” these “businessmen in the real estate industry” and elsewhere are willing to step forward and accuse Senator Villar in a public arena, I’d prefer to give Senator Villar the benefit of the doubt.

I am hoping other presidential candidates will give me the opportunity to meet with them so we can discuss their history of support for the environment. As far as Senator Villar is concerned, he has indicated that his company makes it a point to plant several trees for every tree uprooted for his pabahay projects; there are government laws that require these housing companies to plant trees to replace the ones destroyed in the course of “urbanization,” and I think he abides by these laws. He has also filed several education-based bills, all of which are available on his website. (I’ve asked his web team to update it to indicate which of these bills have actually been signed into law.)

By: ella

ella — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 17:18:31 +0000

he does appear to be nice in these interviews but one reason i am iffy about him is his anti-obscenity bill

this thing probably began with good intentions but ended up becoming a badly written bill.

there is a clause that bans what they term offensive material (ex: depictions of sexual acts, showing nude human bodies) regardless of the motive of the author. again, regardless of the motive.

this will basically render medical books that show human anatomy bannable material. amorsolo’s nude paintings, again, bannable material.

john silva explains the point best here.

Hi Ella! Thanks for swinging by.

I’m surprised I forgot to mention that! He actually talked a bit about that bill. In a nutshell, he acknowledged that act was not written well. He sponsored it when it was brought to him – many bills that senators sponsor are actually presented to their offices – but when he submitted it, he realized how constraining it was. Pati siya, may mga paintings siya that would be banned under its provisions.

Basically, he abandoned its pursuit. I don’t think it will be signed into law without its main proponent championing it, and without any other senator seeking to pursue it (or modify it), I doubt it’ll pass. I’m sure it was a lesson to him – and his staff – to take a closer, less haphazard look at the materials they present to Congress.

By: currystrumpet

currystrumpet — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 03:27:11 +0000

“The country should be managed like a corporation.” One SEAsian country that is run like a corporation and has been tremendously successful in part because of this outlook comes to mind: Singapore.

I find MV’s view on entrepreneurship as cure-all a bit simplistic; however if he actually manages to cut down all the red tape that comes with doing business in the Phils, it would definitely benefit not just local entrepreneurs, but woo back foreign investments as well.

Hello, currystrumpet! Thank you for passing by.

There are many who believe that the Philippines should not be run like a corporation, for a variety of very good reasons, and I wouldn’t want to head into that whirlpool. I know little on the subject. I do agree, with you, however, that a country run like a corporation, such as Singapore, is a strong example and model that may not hurt us to emulate on a variety of platforms and degrees.

I can safely assume his economic plan is a lot more complex than he would make it out to be. I haven’t seen it in its entirety, and were I to actually see it, I certainly would not claim to fully understand it. (That I got a B+ in university economics is still a mystery to me.) Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers, as I mentioned earlier, attributes success to more than just a killer work ethic, and yes, I think entrepreneurship is not the cure-all.

(When I brought up that government bureaucracy makes it difficult to start a business, he said “do it despite the government.” I was a bit turned off by that reply, not because of its “suck it up, poop happens” mentality, but because it seemed to almost support the labyrinth of red tape & difficulty that comes with starting up a business. Small wonder the underground economy that doesn’t declare it exists, thrives. I know a true entrepreneur perseveres despite the difficulties; it seems a little cold-blooded, however, to not even hint at possibly setting up one-stop places for starting a business. Yes, that’s too simplistic. Je suis simpleton.)

However, I am inclined to agree with him that it is high time we work within our own localities to pump prime our own economy. We are so dependent on external factors – income generated from jobs from abroad, primarily – that it leaves us at the mercy of global economic whims. If national self-sufficiency is one of the greater goals, I think a steady push from personal job and income generation would be a good step in the right direction.

By: jayvee f.

jayvee f. — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 02:49:09 +0000

sat in one of these before during the senatorial elections and he had camille there as well. she’s really nice!

Her brothers were equally articulate and charming. Quite a family, I have to admit.

Thanks for swinging by, Jayvee!