Villar: Palace not for OJTs

Senator Manuel Villar Thursday night took a dig at some of his rivals in the presidential race by saying the challenge of leading the country during precarious economic times is not for the incompetent good only as on-the-job trainees.

While not identifying the presidentiables whom he believes lack the experience for the job, Villar boasted that he is capable of discharging the tasks of the presidency with his credentials as a successful entrepreneur and as former head of both chambers of Congress.

With the government facing a fiscal crisis as the budget deficit could balloon to about P300 billion this year, he said the presidency could not be entrusted to someone whose qualifications for leading the 92 million Filipinos and for managing the economy leave much to be desired.

“The next president should be able to manage the country well from Day One because if we will have an OJT or an on-the-job trainee, the fiscal crisis could deteriorate,” Villar told a presidential forum of the Manila Overseas Press Club at the Hotel Intercontinental, Makati City.

A former fish vendor who became a billionaire housing developer, Villar said he built his business practically from scratch, becoming the largest in the real estate industry.

He said if he has been very passionate in espousing the virtues of sipag at tiyaga (industry and patience), it is because he has the unique advantage of having experienced and overcome poverty.

“When you have experienced it, it’s something else. Experiencing not knowing whether or not you will have something to eat the following day. Not knowing where to get the money to go to a doctor, seeing a loved one unable to get a good medical treatment because you have no money, not knowing where to get the next matriculation,” he said.

Villar said he believes he is well prepared for the presidency after becoming a leader in the private sector, speaker of the House of Representatives and Senate president.

“I do not know of anybody in the country who has had that kind of experience. To me that is an advantage, I don’t want to brag about these things. I’m just saying that a combination of the two is something I’m very proud of. Many candidates can only talk about one or the other. My advantage is that I have both,” he said.


Source: http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/insideNation.htm?f=2009/october/31/nation3.isx&d=/2009/october/31