| Manny Villar | |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office June 30, 2001 |
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| In office July 24, 2006 – November 17, 2008 |
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| Preceded by | Franklin Drilon |
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| Succeeded by | Juan Ponce Enrile |
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| In office 2001 – August 12, 2002 |
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| Preceded by | Blas Ople |
| Succeeded by | Juan Flavier |
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| In office July 27, 1998 – November 13, 2000 |
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| Preceded by | Jose de Venecia, Jr. |
| Succeeded by | Arnulfo Fuentebella |
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Member of the Philippine House of Representatives for the Lone District of Las Piñas City
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| In office June 30, 1992 – June 30, 2001 |
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| Preceded by | Filemon Aguilar |
| Succeeded by | Cynthia Villar |
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| Born | December 13, 1949 Tondo, Manila, Philippines |
| Birth name | Manuel Bamba Villar, Jr. |
| Nationality | Filipino |
| Political party | Nacionalista (2003-present) Independent (2000-2003) LAMMP (1998-2000) Lakas-NUCD (1992-1998) |
| Spouse(s) | Cynthia Villar |
| Children | Manuel Paolo Villar III Mark Villar Camille Linda Villar |
| Residence | Las Piñas City, Metro Manila |
| Alma mater | University of the Philippines |
| Occupation | Businessperson; Politician |
| Profession | Businessperson; Politician |
| Religion | Roman Catholicism |
| Website | www.mannyvillar.com.ph |
Manuel "Manny" Bamba Villar Jr. (born December 13, 1949) is a Filipino businessman and politician. He is currently a Philippine Senator, president of the Nacionalista Party, and a candidate for president in the 2010 presidential election.
Villar was born in Tondo, an impoverished and densely populated district of Manila. After graduating from the University of the Philippines, he worked as an accountant and financial analyst, then launched a highly successful business in real estate. The number of homes built by Villar's companies has totaled to over 200,000 units, and his business career made him one of the country's wealthiest persons.
Villar entered politics in 1992 when he was elected Congressman representing the district of Las Piñas-Muntinlupa, and later became Speaker of the House of Representatives. As Speaker, he presided over the impeachment of President Joseph Estrada by the House of Representatives in 2000. In 2001 he was elected Senator, and served as Senate President from 2006 to 2008.
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Manuel Bamba Villar, Jr. was born on December 13, 1949 in Tondo, an impoverished and densely populated district of Manila.[1] He was the second of the nine children of his parents.[2] His father, Manuel Montalban Villar, Sr., was a government employee from Cabatuan, Iloilo, and his mother Curita Bamba was a seafood dealer from Orani, Bataan.[1] The family lived in a small rented apartment located in a run-down slum area.[3]
As a child, Villar attended Holy Child Catholic School, a private Catholic school in Tondo.[4] He also assisted his mother in selling shrimp and fish at the Divisoria Public Market in order to help earn the money to support his siblings and himself to school.[1] He finished his high school education at the Mapúa Institute of Technology in Intramuros.[4] He attended the University of the Philippines - Diliman and earned his bachelor's degree in business administration in 1970.[4] He returned to the same school to earn his master's degree in business administration in 1973.[4] He later characterized himself as being impatient with formal schooling, and eager to start working and go into business.[3]
After obtaining his bachelor's degree, Villar began his professional career working as an accountant for Sycip, Gorres, Velayo & Co. (SGV & Co), the country's largest accounting firm.[4] He resigned from SGV & Co. to start his first business, delivering seafood in Makati.[2] However, when his largest customer was unable to pay him, he negotiated a debt restructuring of sorts, selling discounted meal tickets to office workers in exchange for receivables.[5] He then worked briefly as a financial analyst for the Private Development Corporation of the Philippines.[1]
In 1975, with an initial capital of P10,000, Villar purchased two reconditioned trucks and started a business delivering sand and gravel for construction companies in Las Piñas.[3][2] This eventually segued into building houses, as Villar took out a seven-year loan from a rural bank offering low interest rates[5], and began what would become the country's largest home building company, with an emphasis on low-priced mass housing.[1] A notable innovation of Villar's companies was to sell house and lot packages, when the common practice at the time was to sell lots for future homeonwers to build upon.[2] He initiated mass housing projects through economies of scale, utilizing the cost advantages of developing a large scale project in order to bring down housing prices.[2] The number of homes built by Villar's companies totaled to over 200,000 units.[5]
In July 1995, Villar's flagship property, C&P Homes, was listed on the Philippine Stock Exchange and grew by more than a third in one day, ballooning Villar's 80% stake in the company to $1.5 billion.[6] As of 2009, Forbes magazine ranks him as the 9th wealthiest person in the Philippines, with a net worth of US$530 million.[7]
In July 1998, Philippine Daily Inquirer obtained documents that revealed conversion of many Villar landholdings (around 5900 hectares) from agricultural to residential use was made without the required clearance from the Department of Agrarian Reform. [8]
Villar entered politics in 1992 when he was elected to the House of Representatives, representing the district of Las Piñas-Muntinlupa (and later the district of Las Piñas City).[1] He served for three consecutive three-year terms, consistently posting landslide election victories.[1]
Villar was chosen Speaker of the House of Representatives in 1998.[1] In August 1998, Rep. Joker Arroyo accused Villar of various conflicts of interest and breaches of ethical standards with regards to his status as both lawmaker and real estate developer. [9] During 2010 presidential campaign Arroyo defended Villar against the same accusations saying the Senate rules being used are wrong.[10]
As speaker, he presided over the impeachment of President Joseph Estrada over corruption allegations in November 2000.[11] Along with a large group of lawmakers which include the Senate President, Villar defected from Estrada's Laban ng Makabayang Masang Pilipino (LAMMP) coalition in order to hasten the process of impeachment.[12] Seconds after the opening prayer, and skipping the traditional roll call, he immediately read a resolution sending the impeachment case to the Senate for trial, bypassing a full vote and ignoring attempts by Estrada allies to delay the proceedings.[11] Hours after the impeachment proceedings, congressmen allied with the president led a move to oust Villar from his post as speaker, replacing him with Estrada ally Arnulfo Fuentebella.[11]
In 2001, barred by constitutional term limits from seeking re-election to a fourth term in the House of Representatives, Villar was succeeded by his wife, Cynthia Villar.
Villar ran for Senator in the 2001 election. Having recently resigned from Estrada's LAMMP coalition, he ran for Senator as an independent politician, but campaigned as a member of the People Power Coalition, the administration coalition party which was supportive of the recent 2001 EDSA Revolution. He was elected to the Senate with more than 11 million votes, ranking seventh out of 37 candidates.[13] He later won re-election in 2007, running as a member of the Genuine Opposition coalition, ranking fourth out of 37 candidates.[1]
In July 2006, Villar was chosen Senate President.[1] He had previously held the position of Senate President pro tempore, as well as the chairmanship of the Committees on Finance, Foreign Relations, Public Order, and Committee on Agriculture and Fisheries.[1] In November 2008, he resigned the position due to a lack of support in the Senate, and was succeeded by Juan Ponce Enrile[14] who later on investigated villar for C5 scam [15] and Villar allegedly tried to buy off Enrile [16].
Villar is currently a candidate for President of the Philippines in the May 2010 presidential election, as the standard bearer of the Nacionalista Party. He filed his certificate of candidacy for president on November 30, 2009, along with his running mate, Senator Loren Legarda.[17]
According to a January 2010 survey by polling firm Pulse Asia and the February 2010 survey from Social Weather Stations, Villar is statistically tied in the lead with his main rival in the election, Senator Benigno Aquino III.[18] Other rivals in the presidential race include former President Joseph Estrada, Senator Richard Gordon who says Villar tried to buy him out of the race[19], Senator Jamby Madrigal and former Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro.[18]
His popular campaign line is "Sipag at Tyaga" (Hardwork and Patience). Villar's campaign platform includes combating poverty and corruption, two major problems between which he believes there is a strong link.[20]
In his third year of college at the University of the Philippines, Villar became friends with Cynthia Aguilar, his classmate in the UP College of Business Administration.[5] Her father was then mayor of Las Piñas City. They married at the age of 25.[5] They have three children, Manuel Paolo (born c. 1977), Mark (born c. 1978), and Camille Linda (born c. 1985).[6][21] Villar's two sons studied at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania for their college education, while Camille attended Ateneo de Manila University.[5] All three children graduated with degrees in finance or business management.[21]
Villar lives in a two-bedroom house with his family in Las Piñas City.[5] In early 2010, a "political smear" was disseminated on the Internet, claiming falsely that Villar owned "an opulent mansion," which was debunked by Snopes.com.[22]
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Filemon Aguilar |
Representative, Lone District of Las Piñas City 1992 – 2001 Prior to 1998, Lone District of Las Piñas-Muntinlupa |
Succeeded by Cynthia Villar |
| Preceded by Jose De Venecia |
Speaker of the Philippine House of Representatives 1998 – 2000 |
Succeeded by Arnulfo Fuentebella |
| Preceded by Blas Ople |
President pro tempore of the Senate of the Philippines 2001 – 2002 |
Succeeded by Juan Flavier |
| Preceded by Franklin Drilon |
President of the Senate of the Philippines 2006 – 2008 |
Succeeded by Juan Ponce Enrile |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by Salvador Laurel |
President of the Nacionalista Party since 2003 |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
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   | Nacionalista Party Leader Profiles: Manny Villar - Nacionalista Party .com |
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