Senator Manuel Villar Jr. said in a press conference on Thursday that the Senate's alleged "hasty" probe on the ethics complaint filed against him in relation to the C-5 road project is part of the 2010 presidential race.

Villar said this is how he sees the Senate investigation into the ethics case filed by Sen. Maria Consuelo "Jamby" Madrigal.

"Lahat ng mga nag-i-issue sa akin dito ay puro presidentiables eh. Sila ang magiging judge ko dito (My accusers are all presidentiables. They will be my judges in this ethics case)," Villar said.

The presidential aspirants Villar alluded to are Senators Panfilo Lacson, chairman of the ethics committee that initially handled Madrigal's complaint, and Manuel "Mar" Roxas III.

Villar said he does not want to attend the ethics hearing because he knows that in the end, the Senate committee of the whole, headed by Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, will find him guilty of violating ethical guidelines in connection with the "double entry" of the C-5 road project in the 2008 national budget.

Not about truth?

The senator scored the Senate's twice a week hearing of the ethics complaint, which, he said, indicates that he has been found guilty by the majority.

"Lahat ng botohan dito ay political. Wala itong kinalaman sa hustisya at tama (The case is political. This has nothing to do with justice and truth)," the former Senate president said.

He said that instead of attending the hearing on Thursday, he decided to hold a press conference instead to explain the "double insertion" to the media and the public.

Not overpriced

Earlier in the press conference, Villar denied the alleged realignment of the C-5 extension project for his benefit. He also denied allegations that he benefitted in the P1.2 billion fund paid for the realignment.

He also belied the alleged overpricing of the right of way payment for his property in Sucat, Parañaque, which was included in the C-5 Road Project.

"When I made an investigation. I found out that the P30,000 [per square meter] property was right beside SM [Mall] Annex," he said, explaining that a property along a major thoroughfare like the Sucat Road has a high zonal value.

Public benefit

The senator said that he allowed the government to include his property in the C-5 Road Project because he knows the public will benefit from it.

"Ano namang mukha ang ihaharap ko sa mga kababayan ko kung hindi ko padadaanin ang C-5?" he said.

Villar reiterated that the Senate should stop entertaining Madrigal's ethics complaint against him because he had been previously cleared by the Senate Finance Committee, then headed by Enrile, in the "double insertion" mess.

He said his detractors and potential opponents in the 2010 presidential elections are just using the issue to gain publicity and destroy his credibility as a public official.