MANILA, Philippines—Just a “victim of dirty politics.”
Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda) chief Joel Villanueva and Christian evangelist Bro. Eddie Villanueva. FILE PHOTOS
Christian evangelist Bro. Eddie Villanueva on Friday said he believed his son Joel Villanueva, director general of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda), when he denied receiving a centavo from his pork barrel allocation during the Arroyo administration.
“I know my son,” said the elder Villanueva of the three-term representative of the Citizens’ Battle Against Corruption (Cibac) party-list, one of 27 legislators who allegedly funneled their Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), or pork barrel, to bogus organizations linked to Janet Lim-Napoles.
“He is not a saint, but I am 101 percent sure he was not involved in pork barrel-related ghost projects during his time in Congress,” he said.
“He knows very well that to us, integrity is more important than any kind of riches. Also, the Christian principles and values my wife and I have inculcated in our children are intact,” he added.
Villanueva said he heard from contacts in the administration that the linking of his son to the P10-billion pork barrel scam was a “demolition job” engineered by people who did not want him to run in the next senatorial elections.
He identified one of those behind the “black propaganda” but asked that he not be named.
The head of the Jesus is Lord Church said the allegations against his son were “absolutely baseless and unfounded.” Jerry E. Esplanada
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