Enrile: Villar violated the Constitution

Press Release
By Office of Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile
February 2, 2010

PASAY CITY  –  Sen. Manny Villar violated the Philippine Constitution for using his position to benefit his real estate companies from a multi-billion road extension project undertaken by the government, according to Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile.

Enrile told the Senate in his sponsorship speech on Committee Report No. 780 that the investigation by the Committee of the Whole into the controversial C-5 project showed that there was substantial credible evidence of unethical conduct against Villar.

“As it happened, Senator Villar used that power to satisfy the interest of his corporations, and himself and his family. He did not therefore only violate the conflict of interest rule… Senator Villar also violated the Constitution because he became directly and indirectly interested financially in contracts between his corporations and the DPWH, a government entity,” Enrile said. “We are not supposed to be financially interested in any contract or any franchise from the government.”

Since May 2009, Enrile said the committee had conducted 12 adjudicatory hearings to tackle the unethical case filed by Sen. Jamby Madrigal, who presented 900 pieces of documentary evidence and at least five witnesses to prove the improper conduct of Villar.

Not once did Villar participate in any of the proceedings to dispute the charges, present counter-evidence or cross-examine the witnesses despite the opportunities accorded to him, Enrile said, adding that even Villar’s allies in the Senate chose not to take part in the committee hearings.

“The Committee has concluded that for the benefit of the corporations of Senator Villar and he himself and his family, Senator Villar made the Filipino people suffer the total amount of P6,226,070,427.00,” Enrile said. He confirmed though that there was no double insertion in the budget as alleged against Villar.

Based on computation prepared by the committee, the total cost of the realigned C-5 Extension Road Project as sponsored, proposed and pushed by Villar ballooned to almost P7 billion as opposed to the original government plan of P2.5 billion.

“To the aforesaid amounts of P4,284,970,000.00 and P1,800,000,000.00 or a total of P6 billion – this is the amount that we suggested to be restituted P6,084,970,000 – the Committee also found and should add to this P141,100,427.00, representing the overprice done on the properties of Senator Villar which went into the pocket of Senator Villar and his family through his corporations to acquire the roads rights-of-way for the C-5 Extension Project of the DPWH,” Enrile told senators.

Enrile also underscored the failure of Villar to divest his interests in his real estate businesses and declare financial interests while pushing for the massive road expansion project when he was a member of the House of Representatives, chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance and Senate president – a violation of the Constitution.

“The fact the he (Villar) continued, I repeat, continued to fund the said project when he was already a Senator, when he was already a Chairman of the Committee on Finance, when he was already the Senate President, and yet did not disclose, not an iota of information, not a wisp of any information, not even a whisper of his pecuniary interest as so required by the Constitution, constitutes in a rational mind, not to an irrational mind, an improper conduct, to say the least,” Enrile said.

Villar owns 52 percent of Adelfa Corporation, and Rep. Cynthia Villar, his wife, holds 48 percent. The family-owned Adelfa Properties is the holding company of all the corporations down below, including Golden Haven Memorial Park, Inc. and Azalea Real Estate Corporation (now known as Brittany Corporation), which are all involved to the C-5 controversy.

He explained that Villar could not claim innocence about the issue of overpricing since Engr. Anastacio Adriano Jr., former senior vice president and general manager of Adelfa Properties, testified as a hostile witness at a Senate hearing that he “negotiated all of these for Senator Villar.”

“As I said, it is fair and safe to assume that Senator Villar knew or ought to have known about the said overpricing as his corporations stood to gain from such transactions with the government and considering the closeness of Senator Villar to Engr. Adriano, who was directly involved in the transactions, in the negotiations, in the tawaran, and in the lagayan,” Enrile said.

The report recommended that Villar be censured for his improper conduct and be asked to return to the public coffers the money that his companies profited from the road-right-of-way sale.