The Philippine Online Chronicles

Billionaire Senator and now Presidential aspirant, Manny Villar faces perhaps a tough test ahead on the road towards the presidential palace.  The senator is facing censure from the Philippine Senate after he was found guilty for “improper and unethical conduct in connection with the C5 Road extension project.” This, the Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted from a Draft Senate report.

The price tag is said to be censure for violating provisions of the Constitution, and breaking the Code of Conduct of Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees as well as engaging in improper and unethical conduct that resulted in damaging the integrity of the Senate.  Shouldn’t he also return, 6.22 Billion pesos of the people’s money?

As a backgrounder, please check out the “C5 Real Score” and “What is the Circumferential Road (C5) Project?” Both are works from Villar that explain his side of the story.  While Veteran news anchor, Ted Failon talked about the daang hari and C5 extension controversy in his television program, which is conveniently on YouTube for you to watch.

So the Philippine Senate is censuring Manny Villar.  For the price of PHP6.22B that’s all we the people get?

Seriously?  That’s a lot of money!  How huge is this?

Let’s see what our money can buy.

Six point twenty-two billion pesos could have been spent on putting up hospitals or funding local healthcare clinics.

That money could have been spent to buy 31 Linear Accelerators to fight cancer.

Six point twenty-two billion pesos could have been used to buy rubber boats and rescue vehicles for our disaster preparation team as well as fund the much needed Doppler radar system for PAGASA so we can monitor the storms coming our way.  It could have meant that lives were saved and infrastructure damage reduced.

Six point twenty-two billion pesos could have been spent on giving school children 20,000 computers.

What else could we have bought with Six point twenty-two billion pesos?

A hundred and twenty four thousand Filipino children could have been given fifty thousand pesos worth of education each.

If you wanted to put Six point Twenty-Two Billion pesos in education infrastructure that’s 10,366 fully furnished schoolrooms with restrooms.

That money our government wasted could have built 8,293 houses for 8,923 families made up of four children each. That translates to 49,758 people with a roof over their head.

Since Manny Villar is such an expert and such a staunch supporter of Entrepreneurs that money wasted on C5?  You know the cost of this controversy could fund 124,400 Small and Medium Enterprises, which can provide livelihood for many Filipinos who have no job.

Six point twenty-two billion pesos could have been used and could be used to provide books in all subject areas for all students from grade 1 to fourth year high school.

And all we get is a censure? Where is the justice in that?

If Manny Villar has been found guilty by his peers to have violated the constitution and ethics that we hold our officials and employees of government accountable what more if he was President?

The price of this crime against Filipinos must not merely censure nor only the return of Six point two billion pesos but it must also mean Manny Villar’s withdrawal from the race for President of the Philippines.

Dear Filipino, if his peers have found him guilty of this horrible transgression, and if you want change, then here is a man who is not fit to be our president.

There are other ways to serve our people but we do not need a president so tainted with controversy at the get go. Should Manny Villar drop out of the race?  Mr. Villar, if you are the honorable man you claim to be: withdraw.

Photo by Noemi Lardizabal-Dado. Some Rights Reserved.

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