MANILA, Philippines ? (UPDATE 3) Senator Manny Villar pulled off a surprise on Tuesday when he suddenly showed up at the Senate to deny the charges against him over the C-5 road project controversy.

But Villar, who stood up in the plenary and delivered a privilege speech, refused to entertain questions from his colleagues and left the session hall after his hour-long rhetoric.

"I stand before the Senate in defense of my name, my honor, my dignity against my accusers in the so called C-5 controversy. To set the record straight and to prove to the senator, who called me coward, na hindi ako duwag [that I am not a coward]. Wala pong duwag na taga-Tondo [No one from Tondo is a coward]!? he said in his speech.

Villar said he stood up to prove to everybody that he was neither a "coward" nor a "liar."

?Mr. President, I was condemned without the benefit of a fair trial. Alam ko namang hindi ako titigilan. Yan ang dahilan, Mr. President, kaya ayaw kong sumali sa sarswelang ito na ikinubli sa tawag na imbestigasyon [I know that they won?t stop. This is the reason, Mr. President, why I don?t want to join this zarzuela that they call an investigation].

?Ang isang boxer ba ay lalaban kung may desisyon na ang hurado {Will the boxer still fight if the judges already have a decision }?" he asked, explaining his non-participation in the Senate investigation on the ethics case filed against him.

Villar said the report by the Senate committee of the whole that recommended his censure was "most unfair" to him.

"I believe it [report] was presented to deceive the people. It was meant to besmirch my reputation. Whatever the motives of my accusers, the report does not reflect the truth,? he said.

"Wala po akong kasalanan. Wala pong anomalya sa C-5. Hindi po ako dito nakinabang. Sa mata ng Diyos, masasabi ko na hindi po ako nakinabang dito [I am not guilty. There is no anomaly at C-5. I did not profit from this. In the eyes of God, I can say that I did not profit from the project]," he further said.

The investigation, from the very beginning, Villar said, was politically motivated.

"Lutong-makaw lahat ito, Mr. President, lutong-makaw mula sa simula hanggang katapusan [This has all been planned, Mr. President, all planned from the start until the end]," he said.
Villar then answered point by point all the allegations contained in the case filed against him.

He said there was no ?double insertion? as alleged in the complaint when he endorsed an additional P200 million in the 2008 budget for the construction of the road project.

?The double entry or insertion of P200 million is not irregular because it covers two different ? let me repeat, two different -- and separate segments of the C-5 project,? he said.

He said he did not direct or influence the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to revise its original alignment of the project so it would pass through his properties.

?These are blatant lies,? Villar said, ?The fact is that the conceptualization, alignment, planning and execution of the said project were all done by the DPWH,? he said.

As to the alleged re-alignment of the road project, Villar said it was only a ?slight shifting of one bridge in the upstream direction in order not to create conflict with the proposed alignment of the LRT 1 South Extension Project.?

?The slight shifting of Bridge No.2 was at the request of LRTA and it did not involve my intervention or even a request from me,? he said.

He also belied allegations that he made a ?pile of money? out of the project, saying that the additional P200 million that he had supposedly endorsed for the project was only in the ?imagination? of senators.

Senator Ma. Ana "Jamby" Madrigal, complainant in the ethics case, immediately stood up on the floor to interpellate Villar after his speech but the senator did not even acknowledge her as he left the chamber.

Senate President Juan Ponce-Enrile also expressed his desire to interpellate Villar but respected his refusal to be interpellated.

Despite this, Enrile expressed his appreciation that Villar faced the Senate to explain his side.

?Whether he [Villar] told the truth or not, it's up to the people to evaluate that,? Enrile added.