Press Release
May 8, 2010

Villar, NP ready for victory

An upbeat Manny Villar, the Nacionalista Party (NP) standard-bearer, said he and his ticket are ready for victory on Monday as he shrugged off the latest results of the Social Weather Station survey, which has been exposed as pro-Liberals.

"Let's talk after Monday, how we won these elections-and how this will become the most dramatic comeback in the history of the Philippines," said Villar in a press conference before the NP's miting de avance in Vitas, Tondo.

He was joined at the news briefing by 10 of NP's 12 senatorial bets and his top endorsers Willie Revillame, Sarah Geronimo and Dolphy.

Villar blasted his closest rival Sen. Noynoy Aquino for saying that only cheating can steal victory from the Liberal Party (LP) standard-bearer.

Reporters told Villar that the LP was already celebrating their victory in its own miting de avance Friday night. Villar said: "It's good when your rivals are complacent. It's really good when they are already celebrating, but we on the other hand are still working."

Villar added that he believes the people will really think hard and long to determine who among the candidates can really bring change.

"Ang pagiging lider, hindi yan pinag-aaralan. Siguro, kapag 50 years old ka na or 60 years old, alam mo na kung lider ka. Kung wala ka pang naipapakitang magandang performance at kung wala ka pang karanasan, papaano mo sasagupain ang krisis ng ating bansa?" Villar said.

(Being a leader cannot be learned in school. When you are already 50 or 60 years old, you should already know if you are a leader. If you have not shown good performance or if you still have no experience, how would you be able to handle the crisis in our country?)

After three terms as congressman and another term as a senator, Aquino has not passed a single law. He counts his brief stint in the private sector and in the family-owned Hacienda Luisita as his credentials for seeking the presidency.

Villar, who rose from poverty to become one of the country's top billionaires, holds the distinction of being the only post-war legislator who became leader of both Houses of Congress, as House Speaker and eventually as Senate President. He is consistently among the top filers of bills in the Senate.

Villar believes the people will elect the next president on basis of his track record, capacity to lead and performance.

The NP remains positive that the 15th president of the Philippines would come from its ranks in the person of Villar. The oldest and biggest opposition party in the country has produced six Philippine presidents: Manuel L. Quezon, Sergio Osmeña, Ramon Magsaysay, Jose P. Laurel, Carlos Garcia and Ferdinand Marcos.

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