MANILA, Philippines ? Senator Manny Villar defended anew his rise from poverty, asking his critics whether it is difficult to believe that someone who was poor could get rich without being corrupt.

Villar has been criticized for allegedly using his wealth to become president.

"Bakit naman ho napakahirap na sabihin or isipin na ang isang mahirap ay pwedeng yumaman ng malinis na paraan?" asked Villar at the Philippine Daily Inquirer-sponsored debate on Monday.

Villar assured his opponents that when he joined politics, he no longer engaged in any business.

This contradicted allegations that he had used his position to benefit from the C-5 road extension project.

"I have been a businessman for a long time and ever since I held posts in government, I have never been a businessman,? said Villar in Filipino.

"I was the industry leader before I joined politics. Kaya yun ang pinapaliwanag ko na tayo po ay naging [This is what I have been trying to explain, that I was an] industry leader before I entered politics," he stressed.

And if elected president, Villar promised not to spend millions of money for a single dinner, like the reported extravagant dinner of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her entourage in New York City sometime last year.

"Alam niyo po ako simple lang ang aking buhay, nakikita niyo naman po sa aking pamilya [You know me, my life is simple. You can see this in my family]," said the senator.

?In my opinion, that was too much. That was wrong. It is not right that we show this to our people while majority of them are poor. These kinds of dinners should not be held, especially by a public official like the President. A public official should not be doing this,? he said in Filipino.

Like Senator Ma. Ana "Jamby" Madrigal, Senator Richard Gordon also took a swipe at Villar at how he had used his money to campaign for the presidency.

Gordon noted that there were candidates, who projected to be pro-poor in political ads only to get elected in office.

"You can see those who play cute with people, those who use advertising to say that they are poor and yet they are not when you see their record,? said Gordon in Filipino.

When booed by some people from the crowd, Gordon said, "Thank you very much, alam kong kasama kayo sa mga pumasok diyan [I know you were among those who went inside]."

He was apparently referring to supporters of Villar, who were in the crowd.

Gordon said the poor were being exploited but often forgotten once the candidates were elected in office.

"You have to face the fact, kung ang leader niyo hindi haharap sa accountability dapat hinds iboto [if your leader will not face his accountability, you should not vote for him]," Gordon added.

His last remark was also an apparent reference to Villar, who refused to face the Senate investigation into his alleged involvement in the road project controversy.