VILLAR: PROMINENT CLANS GANGING UP ON ME / GORDON WANTS DEBATE W/ MANNY
DAVAO CITY, FEBRUARY 23, 2010 (STAR) By Edith Regalado – Nacionalista Party standard-bearer Sen. Manuel Villar said three prominent families are ganging up on him to prevent him from becoming president.Villar said the Aquinos, the Roxases and the Aranetas are determined to block his presidential bid because they dread to see someone who came from a poor family become the country’s leader.
“They (Aquinos, Roxas and Aranetas) have been doing it right from the start of the campaign,” Villar said.
“They can’t really bear to have as next president someone from the poor,” he said in Filipino.
He stressed he is not bothered by the three families’ political clout.
Villar’s chief rival - based on surveys - is Sen. Benigno Aquino III. Aquino’s running mate, Sen. Manuel Roxas II belongs to the Araneta clan.
Villar was here to attend the congress of the United Pentecostal Church of the Philippines at the University of Mindanao Matina campus gym. He flew to Cebu after attending the religious gathering.
Growing bigger
Villar, meanwhile, said he expects defections from other parties to boost NP’s political stock.
“The Nacionalista party is getting bigger especially now the elections are drawing closer,” he said.
“They come from all parties. There are those who are supporting my candidacy even if they do not join the Nacionalista Party,” he said.
While acknowledging that the ruling Lakas-Kampi-CMD is still the biggest political party, “we are also getting the numbers.”
He also said he is committed to bringing economic growth to depressed areas in the country, particularly in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).
“The approach should not just be through military strategy but also by making sure that they have sources of livelihood,” Villar said.
Villar said lack of economic opportunities has driven many young men in ARMM to join private armies and even terror groups.
“The literacy rate in ARMM is the lowest while its poverty rate is highest nationwide. Something should be done about it,” Villar added.
Meanwhile, the NP presidential bet said he agreed with Aquino’s pronouncement that Filipinos should make no mistake in electing their leader.
“I agree that we need to elect the correct leader. We must have a competent, responsible and capable leader,” Villar said.
Villar said the next president should be a multi-tasker, familiar with the country’s problems, including managing the country’s almost P300-billion budget deficit. – With Christina Mendez
Gordon wants debate with Villar By MIKE FRIALDE (The Philippine Star) Updated February 23, 2010 12:00 AM
MANILA, Philippines - Bagumbayan presidential bet Sen. Richard Gordon says he is more than ready and willing to face Sen. Manuel Villar, standard-bearer of the Nacionalista Party, in a public debate.
Speaking to reporters in Taytay, Rizal, where he attended the Hamaka Festival last Saturday, Gordon said Villar has a lot of explaining to do regarding the controversies now hounding him.
“Si Villar ay panay kabig, walang tulak (Villar just takes, he never gives).If he is really sincere in helping the poor, he should have built more houses for them,” he said.
“I want to debate with Villar, even in Quiapo,” Gordon added.
Gordon said so far, presidential candidates have only been attending discussions sponsored by various groups and there has been no one-on-one debate among them yet.
However, Gordon said such forums should be sustained as they give voters the opportunity to be informed not only on the background and platform of candidates, but also on issues confronting them.
Gordon told reporters he bolted from the Nacionalista Party because he does not want to be associated with Villar.
After visiting Taytay, Gordon went through towns in Pangasinan last Sunday.
From Pangasinan, Gordon was scheduled to embark on a five-day campaign through Bataan, Pampanga and Nueva Ecija.
Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
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