The country’s richest man

There are a few things Manuel “Manny” B. Villar will say with certainty, at least when it comes to politics.

One, he will no longer return to the wild and rambunctious political arena, never mind that the Villar name remains popular; never mind that he surely has the machinery and the funds to mount yet another national campaign and never mind, too, that he is so much more qualified than the present clowns and lawmaker-impostors at the Senate and the House.

If he runs for political office, would he be able to help fix the widening cracks in the so-called Unity Team or tilt the balance this way or that?

We’ll never get to find out because, as he likes to say, Manny Villar, the politician, has retired. He is consistent about this. He’s said it before and again during a recent dinner.

It’s not to say though that he is done with politics. The former Senate president and House speaker may have taken off his politician’s hat after trying his luck at the presidency during the 2010 elections but he is still a powerful figure; he heads the Nacionalista Party, the country’s oldest and said to be the grandest political party.

Kingmaker

No doubt, this kingmaker has masterfully positioned himself at the intersection of business and politics in the Philippines. His wife Cynthia and son Mark are members of the Senate, while only daughter Camille is at the House of Representatives for Las Piñas.

What’s next for the Villars in politics? Will Camille run for a Senate seat? Or will wife Cynthia run for president?

Cynthia Villar, whether you love or you hate her, remains popular and continues to enjoy a strong name recall, after all. She is unfazed that some videos which caught her in a fit of rage have gone viral. This has not deterred her from speaking  – boldly, loudly and sternly – on issues close to her heart, whether it’s smuggling or reclamation.

She is passionate about agriculture, never mind that her family has been accused in the past of converting agricultural lands into subdivisions. She has denied this of course, saying her family does not buy agricultural land.

No doubt she is fierce. You wouldn’t want to be caught in an argument with her. I myself met her sometime in 2022 during the awarding ceremony of the Rotary Club of Manila Journalism Awards. Three different senators were tasked to hand the awards to the recipients, myself included. I was quietly whispering in my mind that I hope it wouldn’t be senator Cynthia who would be assigned to hand me my award.

I was simply scared of her for no reason at all. I imagined she might reprimand me on stage for stories I wrote before. Paranoia surely set in. But as fate would have it, it was she who would be tasked to hand me the award. I had no choice but to walk up the stage and face my imagined villain.

But lo and behold, I was pleasantly surprised. She was warm and all smiles, perhaps like a school principal you thought would reprimand you but would instead just give you a warm greeting.

Rody Duterte, the ex-president and a friend of the Villars, is right when he would joke that while everyone is scared of the fierce and brave Cynthia Villar, it is Manny Villar who is actually the bravest of them all, for simply being married to her.

Turning serious, Manny Villar of course is proud of his wife, recently announcing on their 48th anniversary that their love has stood the test of time and that they’ve leaned on each other through thick and thin since they exchanged I do’s when they were both 25 years old.

His number one love advice? Don’t prolong the fights “kasi magkakaayos din naman kayo.”

Going back to the Villars’ political future, I strongly believe that while Manny Villar the politician has retired, the other Villars will stay in politics. I wouldn’t be surprised if indeed, another Villar will run for president.

Eldest son Paolo though will likely stay in charge of many of the Villar Group’s businesses – from real estate to water to telco.

Villar City

As for Manny Villar himself, he’s happy sealing his legacy – the sprawling 3,500-hectare Villar City which he said is more than just another mixed-use development. It’s his legacy project and the last one he would focus on, because it would take years to complete.

Indeed, Villar, 73, likes to talk about legacy these days.

A few days ago, he proudly unveiled Vista City’s Heritage Tree, an imposing 40-year old acacia tree, which he said stands as a living testament to his commitment to progress.

His rags-to-riches story, indeed, is one for the books.

Born and raised in Tondo, Manila, Villar really knew how it was to be poor, selling fish in Divisoria with his mother; sharing a bowl of soup in Ma Mon Luk with a classmate during their college days in UP Diliman to stretch their school allowance and trying all sorts of odd jobs – from peddling fish to walking under the scorching sun to sell gravel.

Now, as the country’s richest man on an individual count, Manny Villar can literally buy any fish or gravel business he wants; or even Ma Mon Luk itself.

His secret to success? Hard work, he says, and seizing the right opportunities.

But perhaps more importantly, it’s also knowing when to let go if something isn’t meant for him – whether in business or in politics.

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Email: [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @eyesgonzales. Column archives at EyesWideOpen (Iris Gonzales) on Facebook.