ONE of the surprises in Forbes magazine’s latest list of the world’s richest persons is former senator Manny Villar taking over from Henry Sy the title of the Philippines’ richest man. It’s amazing how Villar could immediately recover after the political and economic devastation wrought by his disastrous presidential run in 2010. Villar is now focusing on his business empire while turning over to his wife Cynthia the political chores he left behind.
Villar styled himself in the presidential campaign as a child from a poor family growing up. He was the front-runner in most surveys going into the official start of the campaign until reports started coming out that as Senate president he may have influenced the decision to build roads that passed the properties his firm was developing. He lost ground and never recovered even if, in what looked like desperation, he spent much in the campaign.
I remember my cousin in Poro who was the only child in the family with a business degree. He and his siblings inherited the family businesses that his father built from scratch in the town. His mother had been lured into politics after his father died, and he lobbied for them to get out of it. In his mind, business and politics don’t mix.
But not if you are dishonest, of course. Some politicians do get away from the curse of mixing politics and business and end up as millionaires. The others don’t. I don’t really know Jonathan Guardo as a businessman, but how far has he recovered from that bruising congressional campaign he engaged with Tomas Osmeña years ago?
I covered the Capitol beat when the late Vicente de la Serna was governor after defeating Emilio “Lito” Osmeña’s wife Anette in the 1990s. De la Serna was a human rights lawyer prior to his gubernatorial run, meaning that he wasn’t a businessman like Lito. His personal finances suffered much during his three-year rule he could not mount a decent enough campaign for his reelection bid. He lost.
Call the loss a blessing in disguise for economic reasons. De la Serna went on to become a corporate lawyer and never returned to politics. The lesson was learned. I hate to say this, but in a capitalist setting, one could not eat one’s ideals.
Villar must have spent billions of pesos in that failed presidential bid. Now his net worth is P5.5 billion, up from P5 billion last year. He is ranked 317th among the world’s richest. I didn’t know he is involved in mall operator Star Malls. In Talisay City, Star Mall has become a landmark of sorts.
In the list, John Gokongwei of JG Summit group, a familiar name in the list, only ranked second and 343rd in the world. Enrique Razon of Solaire Casino is third and 379th in the world. Another familiar name, Lucio Tan is fourth.
Okay, I have to stop the count. This is all like rubbing salt on an open wound. Villar has billions, I only have a few thousands. Many of us could not even have decent meal three times a day. That’s how unfair the distribution of wealth is under the capitalist setup. As a former comrade once asked in a separate circumstance: “Unsa man ni bay, ang uban buhi, ang uban patay?”