The Wutz Up in the Philippines!

MANILA, Philippines - Campaign posters went up and jingles blared at election rallies and motorcades all over the country yesterday as the country’s richest politician and the son of its democracy icon fired the opening salvos in the tight race to succeed President Arroyo.

Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III, son of former President Corazon Aquino and former Sen. Benigno Aquino Jr., and his main rival Sen. Manny Villar are promising a fresh start and clean government for the Philippines after nine years of tumultuous rule dotted with coup attempts and corruption allegations.

Aquino, campaigning in Concepcion Tarlac, took potshots at Villar.

“We all know our opponent has the money. And there are those who say that the forces of darkness will come together,” he said in his speech. “The question is, will the force of light be overpowered?”

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CALAMBA, Laguna - Nacionalista Party standard bearer Manny Villar said on their rally that his wealth is the fruit of his labor, after critics who tried to  impute malice about his rise from poverty.

“Marami ang pilit (na) sumisira sa aking pangalan. Sabi nila’y ako ay masyado daw mayaman. Saan daw galing ang yaman ko? Pilit nilang nilalagyan ng malisya ang pag-ahon ko mula sa kahirapan. Magpapayaman pa daw ako pag nanalo. Babawiin ko daw ang ginagastos ko sa kampanya,” Villar told supporters at the NP rally at the town plaza.

Villar said he would have rather be a businessman if he wants to enrich himself, instead of joining politics.

“Mahirap bang isipin at sikmurain na ang isang dating mahirap ay naghahangad mangarap sa pagkapangulo? Di ba pwedeng umahon at mangarap ang tulad naming galing sa hirap? Dahil ba galling ako sa hirap kaya ako hinuhusgahan?” he said.

They started their campaign here, birthplace of country’s national hero Jose Rizal, to remind people that the freedom Jose Rizal had fought for is being obliterated by extreme poverty.

Present at the rally were MIriam Defensor-Santiago, Pia Cayetano, Susan Ople, Liza Maza, Bongbong Marcos, Gwen Pimentel, Adel Tamano, Martin Querubin representing his detained father Col. Ariel Querubin, Ssatur Ocampo and Gilber Remulla. Among showbiz personalities present were Wowowee host Willie Revillame, Edgar Mortiz and Raymond Gutierrez.

At least 6,000 people at the plaza were estimated by NP Officials.

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MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – Sen. Jamby Madrigal and several other presidential candidates on Monday ganged up on Sen. Manny Villar for spending too much on political advertisements, which analysts have pinpointed as the main reason why Villar has been able to catch up with erstwhile frontrunner Sen. Benigno ‘Noynoy’ Aquino III.

In the “Inquirer First Edition: Presidential Debates” held at UP Diliman, Madrigal delivered harsh criticisms against Villar. The lady senator had filed a complaint for unethical conduct against the real estate tycoon in connection with the C-5 road extension project.

The ball started rolling when Madrigal was asked the question: “Political ads nowadays seem to cater to the lowest common denominator in society. From catchphrases to jingles, they seem to contain mainly rhetoric but no real substance. Do you think this type of campaigning, including political endorsements from movie celebrities, does this not contribute to the dumbing down of the Filipino voter?”

The sole female presidential candidate responded with a resounding, “I agree—completely.”

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Gives a speech but refuses to be interpellated

MANILA, Philippines (2nd UPDATE) - Senator Manny Villar on Tuesday finally faced his colleagues and answered allegations that he conducted himself unethically in connection with transactions involving the C-5 road project.

In a privilege speech, Villar denied that he benefited from the C-5 road extension project and accused fellow senators who conducted the investigation of fabricating lies to destroy his reputation.

I am innocent, there is no anomaly in the C-5 project and I did not benefit from it. In the eyes of God, I can say that I did not benefit. This is a good project. From start to finish, this so-called investigation was full of politics. All my enemies in the election made fabrications and they cooked up a case that they can present to the media.)

He said the alleged P200 million insertion for the project was never released, and that if the budget had been released, it would have passed through the implementing agency, the Department of Public Works and Highways, and not through him.

“And yet, when some of my enemies talk, it is as if I pocketed the P200 million when they know that the money was not released,” he said.

Throughout his speech, Villar repeatedly referenced his humble roots while pointing out that the senators conducting the hearing on the C-5 were his political enemies. He said that his status as one of the richest politicians in the country was a result of hard work and not corruption.

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MANILA, Philippines - Liberal Party standard-bearer Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III continued to top the list of presidential candidates in the latest survey conducted by the Social Weather Stations (SWS), but Nacionalista Party bet Sen. Manny Villar has further narrowed the gap to just seven percentage points.

The SWS poll, commissioned by BusinessWorld, found that 42 percent of Filipinos would vote for Aquino while 35 percent would choose Villar.

The survey, conducted from Jan. 21 to 24, used face-to-face interviews of 2,100 adult respondents.

Aquino’s lead over Villar was 19 percentage points in Dec. 5 to 10 and 11 percent in Dec. 27 to 28.

Before the filing of candidacy papers, Aquino’s lead over the rest of the aspirants was more than 20 percentage points.

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Below is an interactive map prepared by GMANews.TV of the controversial C5 road extension project in Metro Manila that shows both the originally planned route of the road project and where the road actually passed after presidential candidate and real estate magnate Senator Manuel Villar Jr allegedly intervened:

C5 Extension Project Map

Presidential candidate Sen. Villar has been accused of a naked conflict of interest. Opinion surveys in the next few weeks will show if this has mortally affected his candidacy. But the case at the least provides a window into the intersection between political power and government infrastructure, commercial interest and public spending.

According to the findings of the Senate Committee of the Whole, Villar exerted his influence on the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) so that the C-5 Road Extension would pass through his real estate properties and connect to the Las Piñas-Parañaque Link Road, adjacent to more of his commercial land.

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MANILA, Philippines - The heated exchanges between frontrunners Senators Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III and Manuel “Manny” Villar over the debate and presidential surveys is spilling over on to the Internet especially on popular social networking site Facebook which counts 9 to 12 million Filipino users, more than 7 million of whom are of voting age.

As of midnight Wednesday, Aquino’s official Facebook page lists more than 304,000 supporters; Villar’s has 267,000. He’s fast catching up on his rival just like in the recent result of a Social Weather Station survey.

This has led to accusations from Aquino’s camp that Villar’s fans are mostly from fake accounts.

On Villar’s page, however, a reply was posted saying the charges are desperate.

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MANILA, Philippines—The ratings of former Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro and Sen. Manny Villar are up in the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey on presidential candidates.

But Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III is still the leading choice of Filipinos to succeed President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

The nationwide survey, conducted from Nov. 4 to 8, showed Aquino topping the list of three leaders vying to replace Ms Arroyo, with 59 percent of respondents choosing him.

Aquino was followed by Villar and Sen. Francis Escudero with 45 percent and 27 percent, respectively.

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MANILA, Philippines - Pulse Asia released yesterday the results of its latest non-commissioned survey that showed Sen. Manny Villar on top of the list of presidential aspirants for the 2010 elections.

The Pulse Asia’s August 2009 “Ulat ng Bayan” national survey found that one in four adult Filipinos or 25 percent would pick Villar if the elections were held now.

Villar also topped the Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey for the second quarter of 2009 on presidential candidates, receiving 33 percent of votes of 1,500 respondents.

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