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Manny Villar Platform/Governance matrix

Manny Villar's Legislative Record

Relaxed and comfortable, Manny Villar, wearing a simple orange polo shirt and jeans, sat with Team BlogWatch.ph in cozy Bo’s Café at Bonifacio High Street. @momblogger was hosting. @yogajane was on deck on twitter, sending live tweets for Team BlogWatch. And from my vantage point, which was through the magic of live ustream, the entire event evoked a fireside chat with a leader. It went well with what the conservative Villar was projecting that he is a benevolent, experienced, older politician, and that “he is ready to lead.”

And yes, that was a jab at survey leader Senator Noynoy Aquino’s campaign.

Was Manny Villar spending too much time with Manny Pacquiao? Every so often, even when mentioning C5, Villar found a way to turn that conversation to Hacienda Luisita. Even commentary that seemingly is turning the conversation at his experience is a shot across the Aquino Campaign. “When you're fifty,” Villar started, “you should have demonstrated leadership qualities. You don't become a leader the day after elections.”

Real subtle jabs, those words were.

Like Mayweather versus Pacquiao, the political and news junkie in me thinks, it would be nice if Aquino and Villar could be in the same room and to see them slug at each other.

Target locked, and ‘weapons’ loaded, and he is coming out, ‘guns’ blazing. Villar’s campaign has realigned itself from Chiz to Aquino. Manny Villar couldn’t stress enough: he is anti-poverty and his campaign and his presidency revolves around that.

Thankfully, Manny Villar didn’t say, “Villar, para sa masa”.

Candid as the interview was, and though Manny Villar was able to get his points across perfectly, a question kept nagging at me. Is there a difference between this Manny Villar and the Manny Villar Platform spelled out in this subtle piece of business called the Nationalista Party Platform which starts:

“The main trust of our platform is emancipating the people from poverty and injustice. Self reliant and sustainable economic development program shall be pursued by implementing agrarian reform, increasing agriculture productivity and developing domestic industries. The problems of environmental destruction, climate change, and recurring calamities shall be comprehensively addressed. High priority shall be given to education, health, housing and other basic social services.”

A few people commented that Aquino’s platform was filled with motherhood statements. What makes this Nationalista Platform any different from the Liberal Party’s?

On Agriculture

“Agriculture first,” Villar argued. “Seventy percent of the poor are in agriculture,” and the rational of his campaign is his thrust to fight for the poor and solve injustice and create an atmosphere of self-reliance. Even that is a subtle charge against Aquino, who is a minority owner of Hacienda Luisita.

The rational is a sound one. Or is it? Turn the page, and look at the Nationalista Platform, you can see the handprint of Satur Ocampo, Liza Maza and Loren Legarda on the Villar campaign and platform. If you need confirmation, just go and read Tonyo Cruz over at Asian Correspondents. He wrote, “Calling a Spade,” and says that The Nationalista Platform is an adaptation of the Makabayan Party Platform.

In the same piece, Tonyo recounted a wet dream of Noynoy Aquino renouncing his minority share over Hacienda Luicita and inviting Ocampo and Maza along for the ride. Why does an Aquino need to sell his one percent share and Villar keeps his business? Why would Aquino sleep with the left that has done nothing, but attack him and his family? What has the left done since 1986 that warrants elevating them to senatorial positions in 2010?

Villar and the Nationalistas in their paper, said that they will focus “on agricultural lands and providing livelihood opportunities,” raise the standard of living in rural areas.

Fine words right?

Then again, have we asked the question, how many formerly agricultural land has Villar’s company turned into subdivisions? Has Manny Villar placed his company into a blind trust in the event he becomes president?

How exactly has the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law failed? Is this the Opportunity of Solomon and the Luicita Connection? More importantly is CARP still vital to the national interest and what are the proper steps that must be taken to correct the failed CARP law?

Satur Ocampo and Liza Maza are from the same leaf that has time and again attacked business owners simply because they are business. Of course, everyone has failed to address the issue that the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law, for all its failure also says that Hacienda Luicita giving shares of stock to their farmers is well within the law.

Can it be said that Militant farmers as much as all the other factors, like land owners gaming the system all form part of the problem?

During BlogWatch.ph’s interview with Manny Villar, he mentioned that as part of calamity fund, government should simply release fertilizers for free to farmers. He noted that one of the biggest stumbling block whenever there is a typhoon is that farmers can’t get a break. Farmers can’t get a break, Villar noted because they’re not making anything from being farmers.

That’s not a bad thing, you know?

Table that thought for a moment as we pick through the Nationalista Party Platform:

“Foreign Investors are welcome to invest in the Philippines so long as the national patrimony and economy is protected and not compromised. Foreign investors shall be allowed access to land through the lease system.”

Is that not specific enough for you?

The Nationalista’s platform of governance says particularly: “Land ownership has always been an important component of building up the Filipino middle class and it should not be easily compromised.”

What is this huge obsession about land in the first place?

Even Gloria Macapagal Arroyo is hell bent in it. In a global economy where you can do business from anywhere in the world, without so much as owning a piece of real estate, why would a company want to own land where game changing properties in the world are bandwidth, servers and domain urls?

Page 269 of the Global Competitive Report 2009-2010 is an appraisal about the problematic areas in the Philippines. This graph according to the GCR is from as list of 15 factors. Respondents were asked to select the five most problematic for doing business in the Philippines and its economy and they were asked to rank them, one to five, with the former being the most problematic. The bars represent responses weighted according to their rankings.

Does it say anything in there about the lack of land ownership for business, domestic or foreign?

On Economic Stimulus

“On the rights of the working people”, the Nationalista Party Platform says “government should provide for a stimulus package to immediately address the need of laborers and employees for a just and decent wage.”

I think to call for a stimulus package is to insult the Filipino’s intelligence and to distract from the Nation’s proper business of what really needs to get done.

In the State of the Filipino Nation, I enjoined you to take a look at the state of the Philippines with fresh eyes:

The economic upheaval going around the world certainly makes today, an interesting time To speak of the Philippines in relation to the global financial “meltdown” alone will be missing the point. To speak of millions of lost jobs and uprooted lives as simply, “hurt” is deflecting from the absence of jobs that has long existed in the Philippines, global economic crisis or not. To say, “crisis” in front of the Filipino is nothing new, yet there is no sense of urgency, no zen-like calm that we are in the zone, hard at work in meeting the test of generations, and strengthening of our national resolve.

“We are weathering the storm,” is the gospel Filipino leaders have been selling for years. In my humble opinion, relatively unscathed, is a false gospel. Truth is, the multiple-shocks to the global economy is opening opportunities everywhere even as the world requires greater energy to fuel the digital, always connected lifestyle that is transforming the world. The Filipino nation requires one to look at ourselves with fresh, honest and open eyes.

It has been asked often enough: economic indicators are telling us of growth. More than 30 quarters of positive growth yet why can’t the Filipino feel this?

So to say that government needs to write a stimulus package for the Filipino Nation is missing the point. Government has already been writing a virtual stimulus package check for years. It has been fueling our GDP, just to keep this country afloat. We’ve taxes skyrocketing simply because we need that credit rating to keep on borrowing, to stay alive.

Oh, and the NP platform goes on to say:

“We shall vigorously pursue various forms of debt relief from international financial institutions and foreign banks and prioritize the allocation of funds to basic social services and the development of agriculture and industry.” – NP platform

I don’t think these people understand that to default or to show signs of defaulting will result in an even bigger crisis in the Philippines. Just look at Dubai, and the impact of Dubai World crisis sent shockwaves across financial systems because the thing that creditors fear the most is that you don’t pay them or stop at all. Dubai is a richer city-state with a neighbor who could cover its debt. Now imagine who would care if the Philippines suddenly announces it will refuse to pay its debt or find ways around it?

Put it in another way, the real problem lies in inefficiencies in the system and, corruption that has gamed our way of life.

So what’s the alternative to this Nationalista plan?

One interesting positive reform is what TG Guingona has been advocating. Rochelle Chua wrote about it in “Budget Reform is TG Guingona III’s Main Advocacy.” I think beyond the need for any formal “stimulus package,” Budget Reform is one of many building blocks needed to move forward.

But what are they really talking about beyond the phrase stimulus package for labor? Is this a dole out to labor and employees? Because the platform goes on to say, “A reasonable, legislated wage hike shall be considered as an option alongside with the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Boards in addressing the demands for wage hikes.”

Everyone wants to be paid more, definitely. But is that really the best way to go forward? The key problematic areas of Labor in the Philippines according to the Global Competitive Report 2009-2010, page 270:

Risa Hontiveros in another Blogwatch event spoke about Labor in the Philippines, and she said that one of the things she has been doing is to amend and revised the Philippine Labor Code. One of the things she is doing is seeking to protect contractual work. That she is in touch with local chambers of commerce and various labor stakeholders. She also mentioned that if people noticed that the Labor federation she is a part of, has not sought out a wage increase in years. In fact, she said that her labor friends are more concerned about non-wage benefits.

Risa Hontiveros’ thrust in this area, in my humble opinion is a reasonable and responsible response to the current and future challenges of Labor in the Philippines.

I enjoin you to listen to Risa Hontiveros talking about Labor in this video(My profuse thanks to Rochelle Chua for permission to use her video in this post.)

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On Social Services, Environment, Justice, etc.

We can go on and on about the so called, Nationalista Party Platform and how much it seem to be out of touch with what the Philippines needs and what the hyperworld of the 21^st Century, very much demands.

What did Manny Villar say

It seems odd to me that Villar the businessman would go for something what this platform is saying. The Manny Villar who sat with blogwatch yesterday, seemingly shared some, but not all about his party’s platform.

Manny Villar talked in great length about Agriculture and how to solve our food crisis. He talked about providing for infrastructure so that agriculture could grow, like driers and more irrigation. He talked about taking care of farmers at a time of crisis, by making fertilizer free. He talked about why farmers want to stop farming, because it is a dead end job, with no hope of making money out of it.

I remember traveling to Dagupan City a few years ago, sitting in the cool van, we saw farmers drying their goods along side the road. I remember thinking how backward it all looks like.

So apparently, Manny Villar knows some of the problems we’re facing.

I’m still uneasy.

Manny Villar talked about building infrastructure. He talked about connecting Clark Field, and making travel so accessible that you can be in Makati with no trouble at all. He sees this with a businessman’s eyes. That’s how a businessman would approach a problem like that. You need to make it easy for a customer to come into your store, buy goods, and pay for it. You have to make it accessible.

The same goes for the Philippines. It doesn’t matter if it is a local or a foreign investor, it doesn’t matter if it is a tourist or not, everyone who comes into the Philippines has got to have the easiest and best time of his life.

This understanding is definitely a plus point in Villar’s column.

To go about it requires infrastructure. Manny Villar stressed that in his first hundred days in office, he will approve on national television all the contracts that need to get done in his six years in office, all above board. Villar believes that this impact, this shock and awe approach will encourage investment, will encourage belief in his government to work.

There is no doubt that the Philippines desperately needs infrastructure. Manny Villar talked about expanding Metro Manila to be Mega Manila because that’s what is needed. He sees that Metro Manila and the outlying areas to be the major economy of the country, which is true.

The Philippine Daily Inquirer reported that Metro Manila made P2.24 trillion gross in 2006 and the news item noted that that is thirty seven percent (37%) of the Philippines’ gross domestic product for that year, which was over P6 Trillion

“The Day After Ondoy,” we saw how the devastation and the lack of coordination caused a breakdown of government and so amidst this discussion about Infrastructure, @yogajane was kind enough to pass along my question to him:

“Sen. Villar, you mentioned proper urban planning. Do you think it is time for Metro Manila to be unified under a governor?”

I got what I expected.

What Manny Villar said, in a nutshell: the idea was a good one but not feasible to implement.

I understand Manny Villar’s hesitation. Those chief executives and all those people running for office in Metro Manila would be pissed at him for considering the job. No sane person running for President will want to alienate those people running for office. To surgically restructure Metropolitan Manila that way, would demand a huge cost in political capital.

It is still the right thing to do, isn’t it?

Manny Villar spoke about infrastructure and agriculture. He spoke about driers and irrigation facilities. Correct me if I’m wrong, but did he say anything about fixing Pagasa so that our famers and our people know just exactly how much rain will fall, and can take action to reduce the loss of crop, livelihood and lives?

If I missed that part, I’m pretty sure, Villar for all his talk about infrastructure would fail to miss that we too need Contract Irradiation (sterilization) facilities. We got a few small scale ones, but nothing in the order of magnitude as our neighbors in Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, etc. have.

That’s not just Villar’s failing, I’m pretty sure none of those presidential aspirants would get that because for many years, too few people in the Philippines could get it. Still can’t get it.

What Contract Irradiation/Food Sterilization anyway? It is a process by which food is exposed to ionizing radiation meant to destroy microorganisms, bacteria, viruses and insects. It can prevent sprout inhibition, delay ripening, among other things. It is also useful for non-food products like syringes, gloves, other medical hardware, food packaging, talc, etc.

The Difference Between Manny Villar and his Nationalista Party Platform

I’ve mentioned that it is quite odd that there appears to be a difference between Manny Villar, the guy who got interviewed and his platform, which is in paper.

Perhaps the best explanation is this quote from Manolo Quezon’s tumblr that Villar himself gave to Ricky Carandang:

“Lahat kami iyan lang ang sasabihin. Lahat ng kandidato sasabihin iyan. We will say the same things…we will have the same platform.

For after all, a platform… dadalawang speechwriters lang iyan tatanungin ka. Anong gusto ninyo, 3-point agenda, 10 point agenda, 15 point agenda o 25 point agenda."

— Senator Manuel Villar Jr., on Ricky Carandang’s show on ANC

This is not a slight against Manny Villar. He loves the humanities and art, but he isn’t an intellectual. That’s all right. For all his talk about experience, don’t believe in his platform because it won’t tell you anything about Manny Villar.

The Nationalista Party Platform seem too far removed from the Presidential aspirant Manny Villar. The latter is far more sane and practical. He talked like a businessman who sees people as potential customers.

I liked what he talked about: infrastructure. The Philippines desperately needs infrastructure that makes it easy for people and goods to travel. Manny Villar talked about expanding Metro Manila to be Mega Manila because that’s what is needed. He sees that Metro Manila and the outlying areas to be the major economy of the country.

Manny Villar’s Party platform is the platform of the tired and the cynical. Is Manny Villar the person like that? More tired than cynical, in my humble opinion because he wasn’t bolder and more committed; he was squeamish with that governor of Manila business. If he really believed that that was the right path to go, isn't it the leader's job to convince his troops of that?

Is that what we should expect from a Villar presidency? That he will not pursue a thing he knows is good for the country at the cost of political capital?

So apparently, Manny Villar knows some of the problems we’re facing. He has some good ideas on what to do. At the end of the day, it isn’t that he knows what needs to get done. Manny Villar, in my humble opinion reflects what’s right about our Politicians. They do know what’s wrong in the Philippines. They do knowhow to fix it.

About six years ago, there was this guy I sat beside with during a flight back to Manila. I forget if it was from Kuala Lumpur to Manila or Bangkok to Manila. I’ve forgotten his name, and he claimed to be one of Arroyo’s professors back in the day. Though I’ve forgotten his name, I haven’t forgotten what he said. It went something like this: that Arroyo was pretty smart and that she knows what to do to improve the lives of Filipinos. The trouble is, when personal interests come into play, that’s when she does quite the opposite.

I do not doubt that Manny Villar knows what he is talking about. I do not doubt that if I was a stockholder in his company that he has the best interest of the company and that we will advance our collective interest.

The doubt in my mind starts off like this: Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo also knows what’s wrong with the Philippines and knows how to fix it, just as Villar does and who is just as capable as he is. The doubt in my mind is this: what makes Manny Villar different from Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo?

Related sites:

Manny Villar Platform/Governance matrix

Manny Villar's Legislative Record

Tables used are screenshots from The Global Competitive Report 2009-2010

Photos of Manny Villar from Anton Sheker, Jane Uymatiao and Noemi Lardizabal-Dado.  Video from Rochelle Sy Chua.  Image screencaps by author. Some Rights Reserved.

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