The coward from Tondo walks ater the talk

Sen. Villar tried to defend himself from his colleagues' accusations over the C5 controversy. He proudly said "walang pong duwag na taga-Tondo". The senator from Las Pinas could not be referring to himself because he quickly left the hall and refused to be interpellated. He did not walk the talk. He walked after the talk.

Villar denied the charges and refused to recognize the committee that handles the case. He presented data that obfuscate the issues already made clear and simple by Monsod. He could have salvaged some public sympathy had he answered questions credibly. Perhaps he simply doesn't have the answers.

"You can have all the facts and figures, all the supporting evidence, all the endorsement that you want, but if you don't command trust, you won't get anywhere", said Niall FitzGerald, former chairman of Unilever, as quoted by Stephen Covey in his book The Speed of Trust: The One Thing that Changes Everything.  This is what Villar has been reduced to - an untrusted candidate that won't go anywhere. As Gandhi once said, "the moment there is suspicion about a person's motives, everything he does becomes tainted."

The people will not vote for the beneficiary of the C-5 anomaly

Nakaligo ka na ba sa gitna ng basura

Nagpasko ka na ba sa gitna ng kalsada

yan ang tanong namin

tunay ka bang isa sa amin

 Si Money Bili-yar dapat lang ibasura

Dinoble niya ang budget sa iisang kalsada

yan ang alam namin

ayaw lang niyang aminin

Villar benefited tremendously from C5

Prof. Winnie Monsod's Inquirer column last Jan. 30 objectively looks at the C5 anomaly using official documents available. Her conclusion:

"Villar benefited tremendously from the second project."

In a Q&A form, the column asks what is the involvement of Villar in CX-5 and LPPLP? Sen. Villar conceptualized and funded the CX-5 Project. Villar also had insertions and amendments to his pork barrel CX-5 and LPPLP. He also proposed amendments to the 2008 budget, including a P400-million appropriation for the CX-5.

She also asks were the Villar properties bought for road right-of-way overpriced? Her findings: The Villar/related properties has weighted average of P7,168/sqm while non-Villar properties cost P1,880/sqm.

So why is Dolphy vouching for Villar's integrity? He is a comedian. He is joking, right?

My women's tennis album 25 - Patty Schnyder

Yesterday's women's finals at the Australian Open had some dramatic momentum swings between Serena Williams and Justine Henin. Serena eventually won but to some tennis fans, it lacked the sexy element brought by the tennis glamor girls.

We turn back to Patty Schnyder. Enjoy her photos before she totally slips off the ranks.

Why it should not be Villar

Aside from the C-5 anomaly, there’s another reason why many will NOT vote Villar in the coming elections - his soft stand against GMA.

In a forum last night, Villar and other candidates were asked if they will prosecute GMA for her misdeeds. Gibo being the administration candidate gave a non-categorical answer. But Villar was evasive too. All he said was his party led the investigation of the anomalies and that he will not lift a finger to defend GMA.

To many that answer was not a yes answer to the simple question. Gibo's and Villar's answers glared in contrast to the responses of the other candidates. While Gibo's stance was understandable, Villar's was not. After all, Villar is not the administration candidate. But come to think of it, while his party may have led the investigation against GMA, Villar himself hasn't been very critical of GMA lately. Villar may be the true administration candidate in this election. Gibo is just the token one.