Villar can sing, too

CALAMBA City - Sen. Manny Villar, Nacionalista Party's standard-bearer, can sing, too.

And sing the former Senate President did, at the NP's kick-off rally on Tuesday night here, where he rendered "Ikaw na Nga" to the delight of a mammoth crowd at this city's Banga Sports Plaza.

Villar sang the song shortly after his speech at the prodding of television noontime show host Willie Revillame, one of his staunchest supporters, who was among the performers in the rally that came after a morning-to-noon motorcade of the NP's candidates in the forthcoming elections and local party leaders and supporters.

With the lights at the plaza turned off, Revillame asked the thousands of people in the audience to turn on their mobile phones instead as Villar, joined by the nine of the NP's senatorial candidates and local party officials, began singing the love song.

The song was the last part of the program in which Villar's running mate, Sen. Loren Legarda, and the NP's senatorial bets presented their platforms of government, focusing on economic reforms and the elimination of poverty under Villar's leadership.

In his own speech, Villar recalled how he rose from an impoverished life in the slums of Tondo, Manila to become a billionaire "through hard work and perseverance."

And now that he has attained financial independence and success, Villar said he wants to help the poor, which constitutes a large sector of Philippine society. "I promise this to you, I will do my utmost to improve the lives of the poor," he said, to the applause of the cheering crowd that included old men and women, housewives and their husbands, students who looked like first-time voters and young mothers with little children in tow.

"And this group of capable men and women will help me eliminate poverty in the country. It doesn't mean that because others were not able to do it, we can't do it. Our group can do it," Villar said, in reference to members of his slate.

"Time has come for change. Give us a chance to prove our capability, our experience, our expertise to do what we have promised and that is to eradicate poverty," according to the former Senate president.

Compared to the majority of his opponents in the presidential race who were all born rich, Villar said his life in Tondo was that of an impoverished child who "slept on one mat, under one mosquito net" with his eight siblings.

He recalled how, as a child, he learned to swim in canals filled with garbage during the rainy days. He said it was a true experience that could have become the inspiration for his campaign jingle "Nakaligo ka na ba sa dagat ng basura?"

But through hard work and diligence, Villar said he attained his present status.

Once elected president in the forthcoming elections, Villar vowed to "open Malacañang to the poor."

"We will make Malacañang for the poor," he added.

Aside from Legarda, present during the rally were NP senatorial candidates Pia Cayetano, Bongbong Marcos, Liza Maza, Ramon Mitra, Satur Ocampo, Toots Ople, Gwen Pimentel, Gilbert Remulla, Miriam Defensor-Santiago, and Adel Tamano.

The party's guest candidate Ramon "Bong" Revilla Jr. and senatorial bet imprisoned retired Marine Col. Ariel Querubin had representatives who spoke for them in the rally, the first in the NP's "90-day journey to a better Philippines.