What are these laws for?

Senator Cynthia Villar is one of the “graduating” senators in the 19th Congress. She topped the 12-man Senate elections in 2019 and is still currently serving her second and last term as senator. Before she was first elected to the Senate in 2013, Villar served three consecutive terms in the lone congressional district of Las Piñas City from 2001 to 2010. Villar is set to make a comeback at the House of Representatives in the 20th Congress.

Known for her feisty and at times acerbic statements made in public hearings, the veteran lawmaker has chosen to keep quiet on the raging debates on whether or not the present Senate of the 19th Congress should start the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte. At the Kapihan sa Manila Bay news forum last Wednesday, Villar supported the stand of Senate President Francis Escudero that they can constitute the impeachment court when sessions resume on June 2.

As outgoing senator, Villar believes she must stay away though from this issue affecting the Senate as the final body that will decide to convict or acquit VP Sara on the House-approved impeachment complaint. “I am not commenting about it because it is my last term already,” she pointed out. “I don’t think I will be in the Senate once the impeachment trial starts.”

Like Escudero, Villar frowns on suggestions for President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. (PBBM) to call for special sessions of the 19th Congress. “As I see it, this (impeachment) is out of schedule already, if you have to be practical,” Villar noted. “There are seven senators running for re-election and are now campaigning. It would be too much to ask for the senators to go back to sessions.” 

Likewise, Villar shared the view of Escudero that the impeachment trial will likely cross over to the 20th Congress. When this happens, the 12 newly elected senators will assume the slots vacated by the “graduating” ones like Senator Villar.

Senator Villar conceded the tight schedule constrains them from starting the process with passing and approving the new rules for the impeachment trial of the VP. “It will be difficult and take days and I don’t think we can do that within the time frame we have left,” she explained.

Villar cited there are quite a number of pending bills in advanced stages of the legislative mill that both chambers of the 19th Congress must attend to and approve during the last six session days of their third regular session. In their joint legislative calendar, sessions will adjourn sine die on June 13 this year. She cited they have only six sessions days left for the Senate because they convene from Mondays to Wednesdays only.

“Why did they (House) approve and pass it (impeachment) on the last day of our sessions? And they expect us to pass on it?” the feisty senator rhetorically asked. 

“They brought it to us on the last day of the session. Suddenly, they decided they wanted to impeach, and now they’re going to blame us. Why didn’t they bring it to us earlier?” she fumed.

Villar also doused criticism and speculations on who will benefit from the Senate’s dilly-dallying on the impeachment of VP Sara, daughter of former president Rodrigo Duterte. VP Sara’s popularity, or infamy to her worst critics, others believe may affect the political alliances of administration-backed candidates in the May 12 national and local elections.

“Maybe in the House because they would gain from it. But the Senate, you can’t buy the senators. They have their own money,” Sen.Villar declared. In the last statement of assets and liabilities published as of 2019, all senators declared multimillion-peso net worth.

Senator Villar reported the highest net worth of P3.8 billion, with no liabilities.

She is currently busy campaigning for the senatorial bid of her only daughter, House deputy speaker Rep. Camille, who is one of the 12-man Senate ticket of the administration-backed Alyansa Para sa Bagong Pilipinas. She is swapping with Rep. Camille for the lone congressional district of their home city. Rep. Camille, who is on her second term in Congress, is the sister of Senator Mark, who is on his first term at the Senate.

The mother-daughter-son team carries the banner of the Nacionalista Party (NP). The NP flagship is headed by erstwhile Senate president and former Speaker Manny Villar, husband of Senator Cynthia. The Villar patriarch, dubbed as the “brown taipan,” has retired from politics and is focused to running their family’s real estate business empire along with their eldest son Paolo.

Branded among the “political dynasties” in the Philippines, Senator Villar cited they all are elected officials of the land who won the popular vote of the Filipino. “If you don’t serve well the people, they will not vote for you,” she argued. Moreover, she vouched for the qualifications and honesty in public service that got the Villars elected into office. Speaking for her children Mark and Camille, she urged: “They want that career. You have to give them the chance.”  

But being in business and politics is in the blood of Senator Cynthia, whose father, the late Dr. Filemon Aguilar, served as mayor, then later on as congressman of the erstwhile municipality of Las Piñas for so many years. Known for being an entrepreneur and builder, the elder Aguilar established the foundation for the transformation of Las Piñas from a sleepy second-class municipality into the premier town and now full-fledged city that it is today in Metro Manila.

As she bows out as the chairperson of the Senate committee on agriculture, food and agrarian reform and the Senate committee on environment and climate change, Senator Villar lamented the lack of implementation and enforcement of laws she shepherded through several Congresses she has served.

Specifically, she cited the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) that diluted of the letter and spirit of these laws. What are these laws for? Senator Villar vows to correct them once elected back to Congress. Find out what she plans to do in my next column.