The Overseas Absentee Voting (OAV) law now makes it possible for Filipinos who are working and living in another country to participate in the Philippine elections. As the Presidential Election day draws near it is important that Filipinos overseas do not waste their chance to elect the next most powerful person in the land. So in this article, let us present the plans of Mr, Manny Villar for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs). In the end, it is up for you to decide if he is worth your vote.

Basic Info:

He was born to a simple family in Moriones, Tondo, Manila. His father is a government employee while his mother is a seafood dealer. At a very young age, he was already helping his mother sell shrimp and fish in the Divisoria Market.

To support his studies, Manny Villar was a working student at the University of the Philippines, where he obtained his undergraduate and master’s degree in business administration and accountancy. After graduation, he tried his hand as an accountant at the country’s biggest accounting firm, Sycip Gorres Velayo & Co. (SGV & Co). He resigned shortly though to venture on his own seafood delivery business.

He worked briefly as a financial analyst at the Private Development Corporation of the Philippines. His job was to sell World Bank loans, despite the attractive rates of which there were no takers. Convinced that he could make it on his own again, he quit his job and promptly availed of one of the loans.

So with an initial capital of P10,000 in 1975, Villar purchased two reconditioned trucks and started his sand-and-gravel business in Las Piñas It is here while delivering construction materials to big developers that Manny Villar came up with the idea of selling house and lot packages when the convention then was for homeowners to buy lots and build on them.

Manny Villar became the housing industry leader, and the biggest homebuilder in Southeast Asia, having built more than 100,000 houses for the poor and middle class Filipino families. He then initiated mass housing projects to achieve economies of scale.

In a stunning political debut in 1992, Villar won with the most overwhelming mandate among congressmen in Metro Manila. In 1995, Manny Villar ran for re-election and won an unprecedented 142,000 votes, the highest number of votes for a congressman in the entire country. Winning media acclaim as an outstanding congressman as well as the respect and recognition of his peers, he was elected to chair the Committee on Entrepreneurship.

In the national elections held last May 14, 2001, despite being a relative newcomer in national politics, Manny Villar posted one of the most impressive showings in the national polls. On his first day in office, he filed 204 bills covering a comprehensive legislative program of action— the first among neophyte senators and the third highest filer among the senators of the 12th Congress of the Philippines.

Plans For OFWs

Manny Villar dreams of a time when a Filipino do not have to go outside the country to earn a living. His long-term plan is to provide jobs for Filipinos in the Philippines while his short term plan is to provide safety nets to ensure the welfare of OFWs. Here are some of his plans for OFWs:

1. Create a safety net until such time as we can create jobs in the Philippines like provide for placement for workers who were victimized or a return trip back to the Philippines.
2. Increase the Department of Labor & Employment (DOLE) budget.
   
3. Have to change structure of Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) so more Filipinos can be sent out.
   
4. Send more lawyers for OFWs
5. Provide Hospitals for OFWs
   
6. Help OFWs find ways to invest.
   
7. Create government programs for small and medium enterprises.
   
8. Change the banking system to ensure flow and credit for small and medium enterprises
   
9. Teach and encourage Filipinos to be entrepreneurs
   

Watch out for our feature articles on other Presidentiables!