MANILA, Philippines – The fact that Senator Manuel Villar did not attend a forum organized by a group of journalists on Monday did not prevent arch-critic and fellow presidential candidate Maria Ana Consuelo “Jamby” Madrigal from hurling criticisms against him.

Madrigal found a way to attack Villar when she discussed unfair trade agreements that the country entered into under the Arroyo administration such as the controversial Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA), which was ratified by the Senate in February 2009.

“It’s an anti-poor measure which was pushed under the incumbency of Senate President Villar,” Madrigal told journalists at the forum organized by the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines (FOCAP) on Monday.

“You cannot say that he’s for the poor when he merely pushes for the interest of big businesses.”

Madrigal noted that, “Senator [Benigno] Aquino and I voted against JPEPA because our secretary of trade didn’t know what he was giving away. It is against the environment and against the people.”

Madrigal had been making headlines for openly attacking Villar in prior presidential forums.

The female senator earlier authored a complaint accusing Villar of unethical conduct in connection with the C-5 road extension project. The complaint alleged that the project benefited Villar’s real estate business.

Targeting Gibo
Apart from Villar, Madrigal likewise indirectly criticized administration bet Gilberto Teodoro III in relation to the Spratlys issue as well as on the Maguindanao massacre.

“It’s people in the provinces who are extremely affected by political dynasties. Patronage politics is the cancer of our society. If you remove patronage politics from top to bottom then you can have inclusive growth and institutional growth. These dynasties are anti-poor, anti-economic growth, anti-institutional,” Madrigal explained on her stand on the anti-political dynasty bill.

“Look at the massacre of the Ampatuans, thanks to (President) Gloria’s patronage politics of a warlord, they use army guns under the nose of the secretary of defense. I don’t know who it was then to kill each other. It was very important that this does not happen again,” she said. Teodoro was the defense chief days before the massacre took place.

Madrigal also argued against Teodoro who said that the Philippines does not have the financial resources needed in order to pursue its claim to the Spratly’s Islands in international courts.

“I agree with secretary Teodoro when he said there are international treaties to be respected. But I do not agree that we do not have the money to lay claim in international courts. We have wasted more money in political sorties than can be spent in international courts, actors, etc,” she quipped.

Pro-death

At the forum, presidential candidates were asked to answer a series of questions from the FOCAP panel with a categorical yes or no. They were given 2 minutes each to clarify their answers if needed.

Seven candidates showed up for the forum. Both deposed former president Joseph Estrada and Senator Manuel Villar were not present. Estrada was in Davao while Villar attended the El Shaddai prayer rally in Hong Kong yesterday.

Among the questions the candidates were asked to answered was: Do you favor the re-imposition of the death penalty especially because of the continued occurrence of heinous crimes such as what happened in Maguindanao?

Madrigal said she favors the re-imposition of death penalty but says it should be imposed primarily on those charged with plunder.

“The death penalty to me should be re-imposed, not just because of the Mindanao massacre, but for plunder,” Madrigal.

“When you plunder a country, you kill many people; it’s indirect murder. So for plunderers, until we reach a point where our institutions can regulate properly and where warlordism is not prevailing in the provinces, we need to re-impose the death penalty,” Madrigal said.

‘Clean human rights violations mess’
Madrigal also lamented the case of the 43 health workers who have been under military custody since February 6 having been accused of being members of the New People’s Army (NPA).

“I was appalled at the way the secretaries of justice and defense, and the NBI [National Bureau of Investigation] have bullied the judges in the Court of Appeals. They were supposed to bring the 43 victims there, there was a writ of habeas corpus issued, the military were in contempt of the writ, and they [military] were given another few days,” Madrigal narrated.

The incident, says Madrigal, is one reason why she considers the current administration as “Martial Law in the guise of democracy”. She noted as well the numerous human rights violations committed within President Gloria Arroyo’s nine-year term as president.

“I shall continue a very strong human rights policy should I be elected president and not allow the military to plant bomb-making devices and guns on ordinary health workers who seemed to have a more effective method of helping the poor than the department of health,” she said sternly.

Madrigal also agreed with the statement of Bagong Pilipinas party standard-bearer Bro. Eddie Villanueva who said that the Philippines should first clean up its mess on human rights violations before condemning Burma.
The response was in answer to a question concerning their stand on the case of Burmese leader Aung San Suu Kyi who has been under house arrest for more than a decade.

Renegotiate VFA
When asked if she supports the continued presence of United States in the Philippines, Madrigal answered ‘No.’

“I said No, because the VFA has become a Permanent Forces Agreement with no technology transfer. The issue of terrorism in the country is a local issue, it should not be globalized in the American world view,” she said.

Moreover, Madrigal said other countries are also capable of training the military.

“I believe we need cooperation and technology transfer from other nations, from Europe, from Asia. I like to either renegotiate this. It’s not only America who can help us militarily; there are many other countries who can help,” Madrigal said.

She further added that she is “very much” against the no-visa policy and the jurisdiction issue stipulated under the VFA. “I’m very much against the no-visa policy, letting the Americans come agents and military forces without military visa and also the jurisdiction issue as what happened to Nicole and Mr. Smith wherein American law took precedence over the law of the Philippines.”

No to nuclear power, RH bill
Madrigal also shunned the use of nuclear power as an energy source and downplayed the possible rehabilitation of the mothballed Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP) in Morong, Bataan to solve the current energy shortage in the country.

“To reopen the nuclear power plant in Bataan would be to pay homage to the Marcos folly—that was the original ZTE. That was the original kickback of all his cronies and I think that will be an insult to the spirit of EDSA 1,” Madrigal explained.

She also pointed to testimonies made by French experts before the Senate who stated that reviving the BNPP is no longer feasible because toxic wastes are difficult to dispose.

“I do not believe in nuclear power because it can shut off any efforts for alternative energy. If we go green, we should go green all the way, and not use technologies that other countries have adapted in the 50s and 60s. We need to stand on our own and not follow an old trend. I am very much against the use of nuclear power,” she said.

When asked if she will use government funds to give free condoms and contraceptives to poor Filipinos, Madrigal simply said: “(The) RH [reproductive health] thrust should be information-driven than consumer-driven. There should be massive information campaign than buying.”