Madrigal on rift with Villar couple, Cayetano: ‘Nothing personal’

Former Sen. Jamby Madrigal. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—Former senator Maria Ana Consuelo “Jamby” Madrigal on Thursday said there was nothing personal in her rifts with Senator Alan Peter Cayetano, Senator Manuel Villar and his wife.

“There’s nothing personal with the issue we debated on,” Madrigal told reporters when asked about the reported quarrel between her and Villar.

And nothing personal too against Villar’s wife, former Las Piñas representative Cynthia Villar, who is running with her under the ruling Liberal Party, she said.

On Senator Alan Peter Cayetano, who earlier stated he did not feel comfortable campaigning with Madrigal, she said: “I’ve nothing personal against him. If he feels uncomfortable with me, I don’t feel uncomfortable with him.”

Madrigal had previously accused Cayetano of protecting his close friend Villar in the allegedly anomalous C5 road extension project.

Cayetano, meanwhile, urged then the Comelec to disqualify Madrigal’s presidential bid.

Madrigal filed her certificate of candidacy at the Commission on Elections (Comelec) Thursday afternoon. She is the only candidate from LP who filed her candidacy on Thursday.

When asked why they did not file together as a party, she said “we are solid in spirit.”

“It doesn’t have to be a circus,” Madrigal said.