Ramon B. Magsaysay, Jr.

 

Mar Roxas

 

Manny Villar

 

Working Student
He was born to a simple family on December 13, 1949 in Moriones, Tondo, Manila.  His father, Manuel Montalban Villar, Sr., a government employee, hailed from Cabatuan, Balazan, and Tanza, Iloilo and his mother Curita Bamba, a seafood dealer, came from Pampanga and Bataan.  Manny is the second child in a brood of nine.  At a very young age, he was already helping his mother sell shrimp and fish in the Divisoria Market.  With the burning desire for a better future and a strong determination to improve his family’s living conditions, Manny worked hard in selling shrimps and fish to be able to send himself to school.

“I learned from my mother what it takes to be an entrepreneur, “ he revealed. “And it means working really hard to achieve your dreams.” In Divisoria, he marveled at the volume of sales that Chinese merchants were making, thus he vowed early on to become an entrepreneur.

Hard work, persistence, and perseverance became his guiding principles in life. This earned him the title “Mr. Sipag at Tiyaga.”

He continues to inspire Filipinos with his life story and encourages each and every kababayan to improve their quality of life and fulfill their dreams through the very values he believes in -- “sipag at tiyaga.”

Entrepreneur
Manny Villar was a working student at the University of the Philippines, the premier institution of higher learning in the country, where he obtained his undergraduate and master’s degree in business administration and accountancy. By then, he was also putting in long hours as fish and shrimp trader, where the action starts during the ungodly hours of the morning when the catch lands on the market.

After graduation, he tried his hand as an accountant at the country’s biggest accounting firm, Sycip Gorres and Velayo (SGV). He resigned shortly though to venture on his own seafood delivery business.

When a restaurant he was delivering stocks to did not pay him, he printed out “meal tickets” which he persuaded the restaurant owners to honor. He then sold these tickets at a discounted price to office workers. It took him one year to liquidate his receivables.

He worked briefly as a financial analyst at the Private Development Corporation of the Philippines. His job was to sell World Bank loans, despite the attractive rates of which there were no takers. Convinced that he could make it on his own again, he quit his job and promptly availed of one of the loans.

So with an initial capital of P10,000 in 1975, Villar purchased two reconditioned trucks and started his sand-and-gravel business in Las Piñas.

Housing Innovator
It is here while delivering construction materials to big developers that Manny Villar came up with the idea of selling house and lot packages when the convention then was for homeowners to buy lots and build on them.

Manny Villar became the housing industry leader, and the biggest homebuilder in Southeast Asia, having built more than 100,000 houses for the poor and middle class Filipino families.

He then initiated mass housing projects to achieve economies of scale. His various innovations practically created the country’s mass housing industry.  The Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism calls him “the dean of the (Philippine) real estate industry.” 

Political Career
In a stunning political debut in 1992, Villar won with the most overwhelming mandate among congressmen in Metro Manila. He promptly applied his economic and managerial expertise as a key member of the House’s economic team, marshalling in economic reform measures of the Ramos Administration such as the New Foreign Investments Act and the restructuring of the Central Bank of the Philippines. He was the House representative in the government’s negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington D.C. in 1992.

He also oversaw various infrastructure projects in his districts like the construction of concrete roads and the Alabang-Zapote Flyover. He introduced the “Friendship Route” to ease the traffic problems in southern Manila by persuading subdivision homeowners to open up their roads to the general public.

He succeeded in passing Republic Act 8003 “Declaring Certain Areas in Las Piñas as Tourist Spots”. The law formalized his program of rehabilitating historical and cultural landmarks in Las Piñas starting with the world-famous Bamboo Organ Church. The ongoing project dubbed as “Las Piñas Historical Corridor” covers the stretch of the Old District and may even rival the Intramuros and Vigan restoration projects.

A staunch environmentalist, he initiated a privately funded tree planting drive in his district. He developed a P10-million tree nursery beside his home. He also quietly led a dedicated tree-planting drive complete with maintenance and watering of tree seedlings planted in the open spaces of the community.

When he realized that many poor students could not go to school because they do not even have fare money, he organized the “Manpower on Wheels” Program, a livelihood training school housed in a van that makes the rounds in depressed areas. The program has since produced more than 5,000 graduates and has been awarded by various government and civic organizations for its innovative scheme.

During his first term, he steered Las Piñas and Muntinlupa to cityhood.  “As a developer, I have always envisioned these two communities as the ‘Twin Cities of the South’ of Manila. In fact, Las Piñas and Muntinlupa are the two fastest growing communities in the country today, he pointed out.”
For his constituency work and personal vow, he extended grants of home sites to some 10,000 poor families in Barangay CAA, Las Piñas City. Two major roads were also opened in his district; the Sucat-Pulanglupa Link Road to Parañaque and the Zapote-Molino (Daang Hari) Link Road to Cavite, thus alleviating the traffic congestion in the area.

During his second term, he was able to upgrade the Las Piñas District Hospital with a new building and better facilities. He also launched the “Sagip-Bukas” Drug Prevention Program on all the private and public schools of Las Piñas to educate the youth about the dangers of drug abuse. He also nationalized the Las Piñas High School to upgrade its facilities.

By the end of his second term of office, Villar had already proven beyond doubt his capacity for excellence as a true Filipino entrepreneur and a brilliant public servant who can get things done.   (Click here to read more.) (Source:  www.senate.gov.ph)
 

Dick Gordon

 

Alfredo Lim

 

Franklin Drilon

 

Ping Lacson

 

Francisco Nemenzo

 

Professor Francisco Nemenzo Jr. has just ended his four-year term as President (vice-chancellor) of the University of the Philippines, a position that combines academic, administrative and ceremonial leadership of the largest and most important university system in the country. He was appointed to this position by the President of the Philippines, on the basis of his demonstrated commitment to university scholarship, the esteem in which he is held by his university colleagues, and his high and long standing as a public intellectual. During his term, he implemented a modernisation program, including full computerisation of administrative and library functions, and programs to encourage research publication, which resulted in a doubling of publication output. Professor Nemenzo is also one of the Philippines' most esteemed political scientists. Despite having been arrested and imprisoned for subversion by former president Marcos during martial law, he continues to write and speak about what must be done both intellectually and practically to protect and extend democracy and social well-being in the Philippines today.  (Source:   http://www.capstrans.edu.au/)

Nene Pimentel

 

Political experience

(a)  Elected Delegate, Constitutional Convention, 1971;

(b)  Elected Mayor of Cagayan de Oro City, 1980-84;

(c)   Elected Member of Parliament (Batasan Pambansa), 1984-86;

(d)  Appointed Minister of Local Government by President Corazon C. Aquino, 1986;

(e)  Appointed Presidential Adviser and Chief Negotiator with the Muslim rebels by President Aquino, 1987;

(f)  Elected Senator of the Republic, 1987-1992;

(g)  Ran for the vice presidency in the 1992 elections;

(h)  Cheated of victory by means of dagdag/bawas in the 1995 senatorial elections; whereupon he sued the cheaters before the criminal courts where the cases are still being tried.  He, has, however, established by inconvertible evidence in the Senate Electoral Tribunal the existence of massive dagdag/bawas fraudulent count in the said senatorial elections.

(i)  Elected Senator of the Republic, 1998-2004.   As a senator, he continues the crusade to curb graft and corruption in government; the fight for cheats in the 1995 & 1998 elections.

(j)  Elected as the 19th Senate President of the Republic, November 13, 2000.

(k)  Elected as the Senate Minority Leader in the opening of the 12th Congress, July 23, 2001 and is the Senate Majority Leader in the 13th Congress.

Ousters from public office

(a)  1982 – Ousted by the Marcos government as Mayor of Cagayan de Oro city; reinstated by people-power demonstrations, the first ever in the country; and

(b)  1984 – Ousted by the Marcos government as Assemblyman; reinstated by the Supreme Court.

Martial law arrests and detentions

(a)  1973 – Camp Crame, Quezon City, for almost 3 months for opposing the Marcos constitution;

(b)  1978 – Camp Bicutan, Metro Manila, for 2 months for leading a demonstration against the farcical Interim Batasan Pambansa elections in 1978;

(c)  1983 – Camp Sergio Osmeña and Camp Sotero Cabahug in Cebu City and house arrest in Cagayan de Oro City for almost 7 months on charges of rebellion; and

(d)  Arrested in Cagayan de Oro City for allegedly engaging in ambuscades in Cebu.  People contributed centavos and pesos in small denominations to bail him out. (Click here to read more.) (Source:  www.senate.gov.ph) 

Juan Flavier

 

Teofisto Guingona

 

Randy David

 

That is, until the current political upheaval concerning the revelation of tape recordings which implicate President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in election fraud, further tainting an already tenuous presidency rife with familial corruption and limited economic progress. Writing a weekly column for the Philippine Daily Inquirer , wherein he transcribed and interpreted the controversial conversations between Mrs. Arroyo and former Commission on Elections Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano, as well as appearing on ABS-CBN's cable news network ANC to offer a balanced viewpoint, David was observed by friends and colleagues to appear uncharacteristically angry and exasperated compared to his typical, mild-mannered self.   

"I had made it clear that in a society like ours we have been for a long time looking for heroes that the people could trust, leaders who are capable of bringing the entire country to a higher level of development, and pushing for political modernity," he says in an interview with Planet Philippines. "I had always thought that the society we have cannot afford to be governed by a president whose mandate is under question, a president who committed not just a lapse in judgment, but a clear violation of the constitution and a clear betrayal of the public trust."

In a career which spans several highly-regarded TV and radio programs, countless public appearances and talks, a number of award-winning books, and a fulfilling career in the academe, David has perpetually come across as a clear voice of reason and analysis during times of uncertainty, most notably with his significant roles in the first two EDSA Revolts, and now with the controversy surrounding the current administration.  (Click here to read more.) (Source:  PlanetPhilippines.com)

Eddie Villanueva

 

“My economic priorities, particularly mass-based entrepreneurship, will create opportunities for low-income households to generate more income and raise their standards of living without leaving their families behind.”

Filipinos cannot always be going abroad, he said. “Investments should be encouraged to create more domestic jobs, and mass-based entrepreneur development must be pursued to create and distribute wealth equitably.”

Villanueva said, “My 10-point platform includes a re-orientation of our embassies and consulates. In addition to their regular diplomatic functions, these missions must devote adequate resources to help OFWs, especially those who are abused by their employers. The late foreign affairs secretary Blas Ople warned Philippine diplomats and consular employees against mistreating Filipino domestic helpers and other OFWs. That warning will remain in effect under my administration.”

Image is everything, Villanueva noted. Thus, “on the part of the government, we will utilize our Department of Tourism and Department of Foreign Affairs to disseminate positive information abroad to convince foreigners that the Philippines is a beautiful country and Filipinos are a hospitable, decent people. With a good image, Filipinos should receive better treatment from other nationalities.” (Source:   Cyberdyaryo.com)

Bayani Fernando

 

1. At her request, we are removing Dinky Soliman's name from the list of "presidentiables." The former Philippine Secretary of the Department of Social Welfare and Development wants it known that she has no intention of becoming president and that she is involved in the campaign for political accountability not because of personal ambition.   

2. You can only vote once for only one candidate, so vote thoughtfully.

3. An earlier version of this poll was unable to screen out multiple voters.   Despite clear instructions to vote only once and regular attempts to delete/invalidate votes from the same zealous supporters, vote padding continued, so we have closed that poll and dowloaded the results for proper validation.