You’ve probably seen on TV a hundred times the advertisement with kids supposedly from the slums singing “Si Villar ang tunay na mahirap, Si Villar ang tunay na may malasakit,” referring to Sen. Manny Villar, a candidate for president in the coming elections. It is estimated that he spends roughly Php300,000 every time the ad appears on GMA or ABS-CBN. Count how many times his ad appears in a day and then multiply that by the number of TV networks the ads appear on. Not only that, it also costs money to produce the ad — you have to pay the director, the talent, the musical scorer, etc. Manny Villar has more than 6 advertisements on national TV.
Millions spent on advertisement
You’ll have to ask this question: with all the money being spent on campaigning to become president, how will the candidate recoup the expenses? As president of the Philippines, you will only receive a monthly salary of Php60,000 or roughly US$1,333.33. That’s way below what executives of multi-national companies receive. The short answer is: you can’t recoup it if you base it on the president’s salary alone. So, if it’s not at all financially rewarding to be a president, why spend billions of pesos to be elected? The answer is simple: power. Power will help the next president recoup all (and even more) of his investments. With you sitting as president, using your power of influence, with some finesse, you can sway any decision to your favor.
A billionaire politician
Some say that Manny Villar will not steal from the government because he’s already rich. They believe that his wealth came from his being successful in the real estate business. However, they’ve probably never heard of the issues surrounding how he was able to get hold of those properties. They’re probably not aware of what he was doing while he was still a congressman and now, a senator, to ensure that his companies benefit from his position.
A case of plunder and the road to nowhere
Malaya columnist Lito Banayo wrote two articles in his column — A case of plunder and The road to nowhere — which details how the Villar couple “deceived” Bangko Sentral and ultimately the Filipino taxpayers of 1.201 billion pesos and how Villar was able to influence the C-5 expansion project, making his companies profit from the re-alignment.
In fine, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, fiduciary trustee of the people of the Republic of the Philippines, issuer of legal tender used by its benighted residents within the metes and bounds of the same Republic, now holds assets valued at 290 million, which “erased” liability of the Villars worth one and a half billion, or five times the value of the property now in its possession. In effect, the Bangko Sentral lost 1.210 billion of the people’s money to some very, very wise guys, for and in behalf of a hopelessly bankrupt Capitol Development Bank.
Give us back our money
Now, his colleagues in the senate are even asking him to return the 6.22 billion pesos his companies benefited from the C-5 project. Manny Villar still refuses to answer the allegations thrown at him. While this issue is still being discussed in the senate, it is clear that Villar is not the saint he wants us to see, as portrayed in his advertisements.
Manny Villar’s current ad ends with the line “Si Manny Villar, ang magtatapos ng ating kahirapan.” God, save us from Manny Villar.
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