Written by Butch Fernandez / Reporter (Business Mirror)
Link: http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=24140:villar-takes-up-aquino-challenge-on-lifestyle-check&catid=26:nation&Itemid=63
NACIONALISTA Party (NP) presidential bet Sen. Manuel Villar took up the challenge hurled by his rival, Liberal Party (LP) standard-bearer Sen. Benigno Aquino III, for candidates to undergo a lifestyle check.
“They may be the ones to lose face because my family and I lead simple lives,” Villar told reporters, saying he has no problem with that. “My wealth was built on hard work and perseverance. I shed sweat and blood to earn a living, so I wont waste my hard-earned money for luxury,” he added.
Aquino, responding to Villar’s dare that presidential candidates take psychiatric tests to determine their mental fitness, countered that he and Villar should first undergo a lie detector test and lifestyle check, amid talks that Villar outspends his rivals in the May 10 elections.
Villar, who made billions in the real-estate business, said he still “prefers boiled kamote [sweet potato] and bananas for breakfast,” adding that people close to him can attest to his simple lifestyle.
Debunking claims that he was “buying off” politicians, including his former colleagues in Congress to back his presidential bid, Villar said: “Hindi ko basta ipamimigay ang pera ko. Marunong lang akong makisama noon pa man sa Kongreso. I make friends easily even during my stint as Speaker in Congress.”
At the same time, Villar vowed to turn the Philippine economy around in order to get poor Filipinos out of poverty, if he wins the presidential derby.
According to him, the next President should possess “leadership, managerial capability and experience, which are important in spurring the country’s economic growth.”
He said he would want to be remembered as “the leader who turned around this country ….We are steadily deteriorating; we need a leader who can reverse the trend and initiate our rise from poverty.”
Villar noted that the economies of countries such as India and China took off because of the stewardship of competent leaders. “Liderato, kakayahang mamahala at karanasan. Ito ang mga ingredients na kailangan dahil lahat ng problemang haharapin ng presidente kailangan iyan. Katulad ng corruption, madaling sabihing hindi ka corrupt, paano kung ang mga nasa paligid mo ay mga corrupt?” said Villar.
“If you don’t have leadership and experience, you will be dictated on by the people around you; worse if these people around you are corrupt; unless your first step is to kick them out,” he added.
Villar insisted that his experience as Speaker of the House, Senate President and business leader gives him a cutting edge against other presidential candidates. Villar served as Senate President from July 2006 to November 2008 and House Speaker from 1998 to 2000.
Teodoro downplays Salceda defection
LAKAS-Kampi-CMD presidential candidate Gilbert Teodoro downplayed on Wednesday the reported defection of Albay Gov. Joey Salceda, a key leader of the Lakas-Kampi-CMD and the economic adviser of President Arroyo, to the Liberal Party.
A statement released by Teodoro through party secretary-general Ray Roquero said Salceda’s move to leave Lakas-Kampi-CMD should free them from the burden of carrying members who are pretending to be loyal to the party.
He said that right from the start of the campaign, party leaders have already accepted the fact that some members will leave the ruling coalition.
“Defections are a reality in politics which we have fully accounted for at the beginning of the political exercise. They will allow us to work with our real supporters without having to bear the baggage of those who only pretend to support us.”
“Just like a ship which has been rid of barnacles, it will be a smoother ride to an honorable victory,” Teodoro said.
Reports said that Salceda, who just a week ago even held a political rally for the campaigning Teodoro in Albay, will formally announce his defection to the LP once President Arroyo returns from the United States.
His reported defection followed the scathing criticisms of House Speaker Prospero Nograles over the way the party is being run, excusing not even Teodoro in his attack.
Teodoro, who is not bothered by the defections, said members are always free to leave the party, but they should not use him or even the Lakas-Kampi-CMD as reasons in jumping ship to other political parties.
Lakas-Kampi-CMD Rep. Edcel Lagman of Albay assured that he and the rest of the local officials in the province will remain with the administration party and will not follow Salceda.
“I, together with the Lakas-Kampi-CMD allies in Albay like Tabaco City Mayor Krisel Lagman-Luistro and Legazpi City Mayor Noel Rosal and a host of municipal mayors and officials, will remain steadfast in our support for former defense secretary Gilbert ‘Gibo’ Teodoro for president,” he said.
“Gibo Teodoro is a cut above the rest in competence, capacity, integrity and sincerity. His politics and campaign are anchored on issues and principles without any mudslinging and character assassination,” he added.
Former Lakas-Kampi-CMD president and Sarangani Gov. Miguel Rene Dominguez said he was disturbed by the recent developments in the party following Nograles’s grumbling.
“It looks like a charade is unraveling before our eyes,” he said of the developments.
The governor earlier resigned as president of the party following the resignation of Teodoro as chairman to concentrate on his campaign.
There were reports the standard- bearer quit his position in disgust after reportedly learning that President Arroyo’s husband, Mike Arroyo, has been calling party stalwarts to shift their support to Villar.
Both Teodoro and the sons of the President denied the report, however.
Nograles is a trusted ally of the President’s husband and his classmate at the Ateneo Law School.
Link: http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=24140:villar-takes-up-aquino-challenge-on-lifestyle-check&catid=26:nation&Itemid=63
NACIONALISTA Party (NP) presidential bet Sen. Manuel Villar took up the challenge hurled by his rival, Liberal Party (LP) standard-bearer Sen. Benigno Aquino III, for candidates to undergo a lifestyle check.
“They may be the ones to lose face because my family and I lead simple lives,” Villar told reporters, saying he has no problem with that. “My wealth was built on hard work and perseverance. I shed sweat and blood to earn a living, so I wont waste my hard-earned money for luxury,” he added.
Aquino, responding to Villar’s dare that presidential candidates take psychiatric tests to determine their mental fitness, countered that he and Villar should first undergo a lie detector test and lifestyle check, amid talks that Villar outspends his rivals in the May 10 elections.
Villar, who made billions in the real-estate business, said he still “prefers boiled kamote [sweet potato] and bananas for breakfast,” adding that people close to him can attest to his simple lifestyle.
Debunking claims that he was “buying off” politicians, including his former colleagues in Congress to back his presidential bid, Villar said: “Hindi ko basta ipamimigay ang pera ko. Marunong lang akong makisama noon pa man sa Kongreso. I make friends easily even during my stint as Speaker in Congress.”
At the same time, Villar vowed to turn the Philippine economy around in order to get poor Filipinos out of poverty, if he wins the presidential derby.
According to him, the next President should possess “leadership, managerial capability and experience, which are important in spurring the country’s economic growth.”
He said he would want to be remembered as “the leader who turned around this country ….We are steadily deteriorating; we need a leader who can reverse the trend and initiate our rise from poverty.”
Villar noted that the economies of countries such as India and China took off because of the stewardship of competent leaders. “Liderato, kakayahang mamahala at karanasan. Ito ang mga ingredients na kailangan dahil lahat ng problemang haharapin ng presidente kailangan iyan. Katulad ng corruption, madaling sabihing hindi ka corrupt, paano kung ang mga nasa paligid mo ay mga corrupt?” said Villar.
“If you don’t have leadership and experience, you will be dictated on by the people around you; worse if these people around you are corrupt; unless your first step is to kick them out,” he added.
Villar insisted that his experience as Speaker of the House, Senate President and business leader gives him a cutting edge against other presidential candidates. Villar served as Senate President from July 2006 to November 2008 and House Speaker from 1998 to 2000.
Teodoro downplays Salceda defection
LAKAS-Kampi-CMD presidential candidate Gilbert Teodoro downplayed on Wednesday the reported defection of Albay Gov. Joey Salceda, a key leader of the Lakas-Kampi-CMD and the economic adviser of President Arroyo, to the Liberal Party.
A statement released by Teodoro through party secretary-general Ray Roquero said Salceda’s move to leave Lakas-Kampi-CMD should free them from the burden of carrying members who are pretending to be loyal to the party.
He said that right from the start of the campaign, party leaders have already accepted the fact that some members will leave the ruling coalition.
“Defections are a reality in politics which we have fully accounted for at the beginning of the political exercise. They will allow us to work with our real supporters without having to bear the baggage of those who only pretend to support us.”
“Just like a ship which has been rid of barnacles, it will be a smoother ride to an honorable victory,” Teodoro said.
Reports said that Salceda, who just a week ago even held a political rally for the campaigning Teodoro in Albay, will formally announce his defection to the LP once President Arroyo returns from the United States.
His reported defection followed the scathing criticisms of House Speaker Prospero Nograles over the way the party is being run, excusing not even Teodoro in his attack.
Teodoro, who is not bothered by the defections, said members are always free to leave the party, but they should not use him or even the Lakas-Kampi-CMD as reasons in jumping ship to other political parties.
Lakas-Kampi-CMD Rep. Edcel Lagman of Albay assured that he and the rest of the local officials in the province will remain with the administration party and will not follow Salceda.
“I, together with the Lakas-Kampi-CMD allies in Albay like Tabaco City Mayor Krisel Lagman-Luistro and Legazpi City Mayor Noel Rosal and a host of municipal mayors and officials, will remain steadfast in our support for former defense secretary Gilbert ‘Gibo’ Teodoro for president,” he said.
“Gibo Teodoro is a cut above the rest in competence, capacity, integrity and sincerity. His politics and campaign are anchored on issues and principles without any mudslinging and character assassination,” he added.
Former Lakas-Kampi-CMD president and Sarangani Gov. Miguel Rene Dominguez said he was disturbed by the recent developments in the party following Nograles’s grumbling.
“It looks like a charade is unraveling before our eyes,” he said of the developments.
The governor earlier resigned as president of the party following the resignation of Teodoro as chairman to concentrate on his campaign.
There were reports the standard- bearer quit his position in disgust after reportedly learning that President Arroyo’s husband, Mike Arroyo, has been calling party stalwarts to shift their support to Villar.
Both Teodoro and the sons of the President denied the report, however.
Nograles is a trusted ally of the President’s husband and his classmate at the Ateneo Law School.
Former justice secretary Raul Gonzalez, meanwhile, twitted Lakas-Kampi-CMD members who have left or are leaving the party, comparing them to rats.
He said the defectors are only after their own agenda.
“We don’t abandon. Only rats abandon sinking ships, [and we are] not sinking,” he told reporters during a rally that he held for Teodoro in Iloilo City on Tuesday night which was attended by around 20, 000 people.
Still, he said the defections will not affect the party’s situation on the ground.
Taking the cudgels for Teodoro over the claim of Nograles that he has wrong priorities, Gonzalez said such statement was coming from a “myopic view of the situation.”
He also said Nograles cannot form a faction within the Lakas-Kampi-CMD as he had threatened. Instead, the Speaker is even courting for his expulsion from the party.
Lakas-Kampi-CMD senatorial candidate Raul Lambino said the defections will positively work for the campaign of Teodoro, because of the voters’ sympathy for him.
“I think these defections will be beneficial to the interest of sincere and honest candidate like Gibo. The sympathy votes will go to Gibo,” he said.
Simplified system will make medicines free—Bayani
NOT cheap but free medicines for the poor. This is what Bagumbayan vice-presidential candidate and former chairman of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority Bayani Fernando will push if he wins.
In a news conference, Fernando disclosed his plan to make commonly prescribed medicines such as antibiotics and medicines for common illnesses such as respiratory diseases, asthma and tuberculosis.
“It is the right of every Filipino, particularly those who have less in life, to have quality and free medical services and that includes free medicine,” Fernando said.
He explained that there are politicians who passed laws to make medicines cheaper but the effort seemed not enough to fully satisfy the increasing public needs since only a short list of medicines were made cheaper.
Fernando said in order to generate the needed fund for his free-medicine program, he will simplify the acquisition and distribution of medicines by removing some channels such as repositioning and storage process in the national government.
He said medicines after acquisition must go directly to the grassroot level where they are immediately needed. He said the community health centers should be empowered and be given the authority to request and provide the medicines considering the fact that they know the needs in their respective localities.
Fernando explained that the government is spending so much money in holding or repositioning medicines and by removing these channels, a big amount will be saved.
He added that the government allocates a big budget for health services, not to mention the aids and grants coming from international organizations, and yet the public does not get enough.
Fernando said he will push for transparency for international grants to ensure that aids are not corrupted and are used accordingly.
“Titiyakin natin na ang bawat sentimo na pumapasok at nilalaan para sa kalusugan ay mararamdaman ng ating mga kababayan. Aayusin natin ang sistema at patitinuin natin ang mga ahensyang may kinalaman sa kalusugan ng publiko,” he stressed. (With F. Marasigan and R. Acosta)
He said the defectors are only after their own agenda.
“We don’t abandon. Only rats abandon sinking ships, [and we are] not sinking,” he told reporters during a rally that he held for Teodoro in Iloilo City on Tuesday night which was attended by around 20, 000 people.
Still, he said the defections will not affect the party’s situation on the ground.
Taking the cudgels for Teodoro over the claim of Nograles that he has wrong priorities, Gonzalez said such statement was coming from a “myopic view of the situation.”
He also said Nograles cannot form a faction within the Lakas-Kampi-CMD as he had threatened. Instead, the Speaker is even courting for his expulsion from the party.
Lakas-Kampi-CMD senatorial candidate Raul Lambino said the defections will positively work for the campaign of Teodoro, because of the voters’ sympathy for him.
“I think these defections will be beneficial to the interest of sincere and honest candidate like Gibo. The sympathy votes will go to Gibo,” he said.
Simplified system will make medicines free—Bayani
NOT cheap but free medicines for the poor. This is what Bagumbayan vice-presidential candidate and former chairman of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority Bayani Fernando will push if he wins.
In a news conference, Fernando disclosed his plan to make commonly prescribed medicines such as antibiotics and medicines for common illnesses such as respiratory diseases, asthma and tuberculosis.
“It is the right of every Filipino, particularly those who have less in life, to have quality and free medical services and that includes free medicine,” Fernando said.
He explained that there are politicians who passed laws to make medicines cheaper but the effort seemed not enough to fully satisfy the increasing public needs since only a short list of medicines were made cheaper.
Fernando said in order to generate the needed fund for his free-medicine program, he will simplify the acquisition and distribution of medicines by removing some channels such as repositioning and storage process in the national government.
He said medicines after acquisition must go directly to the grassroot level where they are immediately needed. He said the community health centers should be empowered and be given the authority to request and provide the medicines considering the fact that they know the needs in their respective localities.
Fernando explained that the government is spending so much money in holding or repositioning medicines and by removing these channels, a big amount will be saved.
He added that the government allocates a big budget for health services, not to mention the aids and grants coming from international organizations, and yet the public does not get enough.
Fernando said he will push for transparency for international grants to ensure that aids are not corrupted and are used accordingly.
“Titiyakin natin na ang bawat sentimo na pumapasok at nilalaan para sa kalusugan ay mararamdaman ng ating mga kababayan. Aayusin natin ang sistema at patitinuin natin ang mga ahensyang may kinalaman sa kalusugan ng publiko,” he stressed. (With F. Marasigan and R. Acosta)
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