Coffee with Senator Manny Villar

One of my personal goals is to be able to meet all the aspiring candidates for the Presidency in the upcoming 2010 elections. I’ve already worked with Senator Roxas’ team and I was able to talk to him at length during several events and activities. I was recently invited to join a bloggers coffee session with another Presidential candidate, Senator Manny Villar. I wasn’t really expecting an invite for a session with him since I used to work for one of his rivals so it was a pleasant surprise for me to get that call. We had a really nice conversation going at Bo’s Coffee in Bonifacio Hight Street. In the session, we talked about his plans if he gets elected, family life, and a lot of other interesting topics. Check it all out after the break.

Why He’s Not Joining Presidential Forums
One of the first topics that came up was his recent press release on why he doesn’t go to televised presidential forums – more specifically the ones being hosted by ABS-CBN’s news channel, ANC. According to Senator Villar, it’s too early in the game to be having forums. At the moment there are more than 10 candidates who have declared their aspirations for the Presidency. Not all 10 will obviously run come 2010. Some will slide down to VP, and maybe others will just run for other positions as well. Senator Villar will start joining forums after he’s filed his certificate of candidacy in November.

Personally, I’d rather he join the forums since it’s a good venue for us to listen to what he has to say. It’s also free media mileage for him so he won’t have to keep on spending too much on television ads for his various campaigns. I strongly disagree with him on this point. I’d love to see him with the other candidates talk about their plans, their experiences, and their beliefs.

The C5 Controversy
Another topic that came up pretty quickly was the C5 Controversy. Senator Villar explained at length on this particular issue. According to him, all the allegations raised by Senator Jamby Madrigal were politically motivated. All of the accusations have yet to be proven – and all the facts presented by Senator Madrigal were actually debunked categorically by Senator Villar on several occasions. Fortunately for them, they are still ranking very high in the surveys, which probably indicates that a lot of people either believe that Senator Villar is innocent or they just don’t find the issue that important or relevant.

One of their team members said that we’d be getting primers on that issue. I’ll reserve my opinon on this after I get to read the primer.

Family Life
If there is one single instance that actually tugged at my heart and made me “want” to vote for Senator Villar, it was when my batchmate and now celebrity Bianca Gonzales asked Senator Villar’s children to talk about him on how he was as a father. It was so touching and inspiring to hear his children relate how proud they are of their dad. In fact, Senator Villar’s daughter goes on to explain that she would complain non-stop about her personal problems to her dad even if Senator Villar is thinking of more “important” issues that needs to be addressed because of his position as a Senator.

Believe me when I say that one of the biggest challenges for politicians is to have a good family. I come from a political family and I can definitely say that it’s really hard to balance serving your country with serving your family. Here’s a picture of me and fellow blogger Dine Racoma with Senator Villar’s children.

The Batman Question
In the previous session with Senator Roxas, blogger Marocharim asked what character Senator Roxas would love to play in the Batman Returns movie. He explained then that he would love to live to life of Two-Face because that would definitely be an interesting experience going through so much success and tragedy. Very unexpected answer but definitely unforgettable.

Since Marocharim wasn’t there, I decided to ask that same question to Senator Villar. His reply? He would love to by Batman. Why? It’s a bit cliche but he wants to serve the people. One thing I find very similar though between Bruce Wayne and Manny Villar is how deep their wallet goes and how they are willing to blow a lot of the resources they amassed over the years for their dream.

Why All the Ads and the Spending? How Will He Get Back His Investment?
As most of you know, Senator Villar is probably one of the top spenders on ads even if we’re still 9 months away from the election. He was asked about this and he had a very interesting answer. According to Senator Villar, he’s spending his own money – something that he’s worked hard for all of his life. He goes on to explain that the possibility of being the man to turn this country around and bring the Filipino people out of poverty is priceless and is worth every cent that he’s spending.

It was at this point that I noticed the glimmer in his eyes. This guy really has ambitions for the country and he wants to be known as the man who was able to make this country surge forward. A very big challenge indeed but at least he’s open about it and he’s really gunning for it.

So… what now?
All in all I enjoyed the coffee session! Being able to meet and talk with a Presidentiable is something that doesn’t come too often in one’s life. I’ve had the honor of discussing issues – both personal and political with two of the strongest contenders in the upcoming 2010 battle. I’ve yet to make a decision yet on who I will vote for but I’ll definitely endorse one candidate in the next few months.

Thanks to Mike Palacios and the rest of the gang at Havoc Digital for inviting me to this event. Truly a memorable one.

Bloggers and the 2010 Elections
To end, let me just share an insight. It’s amazing how important bloggers have become to the point that Presidential aspirants would clear their schedule, sit down with a group of bloggers, and open up their life to them. I’ve been reading a book lately on how the internet played a crucial role in the US Elections for Obama. What happened there is really getting replicated here. We’re still 9 months away from the elections so I won’t be surprised if more and more blogger events are organized for other Presidentiables and even VP and Senatorial candidates.

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