Do you think Manny Villar needs Napoles’ money?—Sen. Cynthia Villar

Senator Cynthia Villar  INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—Senator Cynthia Villar raised her eyebrow on Tuesday over allegations that her husband had received campaign contributions from alleged pork barrel scam mastermind Janet Lim-Napoles.

“Do you think naman kailangan ni Senator Villar?”  she said, referring to  her husband,  former Senator Manny Villar.

(Do you think Senator Villar needs it?)

Asked if it was because she thinks they have more money than Napoles, the lady senator simply said: “D’yos ko naman!”

Mrs. Villar, the richest member of the Senate based on her statement of assets and liabilities and networth in 2013, though implied that her husband no longer needs financial assistance, since they already have their own savings.

“Syempre ‘pag may kompanya, ka may dibidendo kami, binibigay ‘yun sa amin. We’re entitled to that so wala kaming problema dun.  Tsaka kung hindi namin kayang kumandidato on our own, hindi kami kakandidato,” she said.

(Of course if you have a company, we have dividends, they give it to us. We’re entitled to that so we don’t have a problem with that. Besides, if we can’t run for office on our own, then we would no longer run)

In her affidavit submitted to the Senate blue ribbon committee, Napoles claimed giving campaign contributions to Mr. Villar, who ran but lost in the 2010 presidential race.

Napoles also listed Mrs. Villar as among those who had allegedly transacted with her when the latter was still a member of the House of Representatives.

But the lady senator reiterated that the 20 computers that her constituents had received were a project implemented by the Department of Transportation and Communications, and did not come from her “pork barrel” funds.

“Gusto ko na ngang isauli kaya lang 2003 pa ‘yun, nasira na siguro. Hindi nga namin malaman kung saan napunta. Mag-pinpoint na lang sila ng bibigyan ng 20 computers at papalitan ko na lang,” she said.

(I wanted to return them, but they were issued in 2013. They are already probably broken. We do not even know where they are now. They just have to pinpoint the recipients of the 20 computers, and I will just replace the units.)

“My God! Kung alam ko lang na ‘yung computer e Napoles, hindi ko na tinaggap yun. Kaliit-liit naman nu’n. Naawa lang ako dun sa mga schools namin,” she further said.

(My God! If I had only known that those computers were from Napoles, then I would not have accepted them. Those are small stuff. I was just concerned with our schools.)

Asked if she thought people just might have been using Napoles, Mrs Villar said: “Alam mo naman sa mundong ito maraming nagmamaniobra.”

(You know, in this world, so many people make maneuvrings (for their own gains).)

Asked again if these people could be their rivals, she said: “Siguro nainggit.”

(They’re probably just envious.)

“Hindi naman kami kakandidato sa 2016. Kaya nga kami nagtataka bakit kami pinag-iinitan. Siguro ayaw nilang maniwala,” Mrs. Villar added.

(We are not even going to run in 2016. That’s why I am wondering why they are picking on us. They probably do not believe us.)

She reiterated that she did not know Napoles and that she had no any dealings with her or any of her non-government organizations that allegedly benefitted from the pork barrel scam.

“This political persecution masquerading as a search for truth is reminiscent of what we experienced during the 2010 presidential elections. My husband, Manny Villar, and I endured malicious allegations that up to now remain unproven. It pains me to see that some quarters resort to dirty tactics to pursue political ends,” she said in a separate statement.

The senator then urged the public “to be more discerning of these attempts to misinform and besmirch a good person’s reputation.”

“As a senator, I am committed to deliver the promises I made to the Filipino people to provide livelihood and help lift our poor people from poverty,” she added.

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