Philippine Breaking News: Villar-Arroyo meeting in Spain

Senator Manny Villar (who just topped the SWS presidential survey with Kabayan Noli de Castro) left for Spain on the eve of a senate ethics probe. Wagging tongues say a big-time businessman, a common friend of Villar and Philippine president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, arranged a meeting for both leaders. What's the subject of the meeting, he did'nt say. Villar left despite assurances from Senate president Juan Ponce-Enrile that the august body will be fair in handling the probe.

This is quite disturbing---hearing Villar meeting Mrs. Arroyo. What will they be discussing, since Villar is not the senate president anymore? Will Arroyo be convincing Villar to put his vote on charter change or will it be about fielding a common administration slate come 2010? Or, will Arroyo be getting assurances from Villar on her post-2010 fate?

Whatever it is, one thing is for sure---Villar is just being consistent. Remember that despite public showing of Villar and Erap together, Villar's camp remained "loyal" to Mrs. Arroyo. Among the presidentiables, Villar is the only one not criticizing Mrs. Arroyo and her demon cabinet. Maybe Mrs. Arroyo wants Villar to go with her anointed, Defense secretary Gilbert Teodoro and form a formidable team come 2010? A Villar-Teodoro teamup is not far-fetched considering that Villar is still seeking for someone to go with him in campaigns.

Is Villar the one minority senator Aquilino Pimentel referred to as "pseudo" oppositionist?

By the way, the Central Police District (CPD) just cleared ABS-CBN news anchor Ted Failon from parricide charges. They have'nt released the report yet, but initial information shows that the CPD has not enough physical evidence to buttress that parricide charge.

And for those who call Palawan their home, a big-time billionaire logger by the name of Don Jose "Pepito" Alvarez is thinking of dipping his fingers in Palawan politics. He wants to replace incumbent Palawan governor Joel Reyes.

During Marcos time, Alvarez was among the strongman Marcos business associates. He grew his wealth during the dictatorship and it was under the time of Ramos and Estrada that Alvarez recovered his wealth. He came back into the limelight through his disastrous pastime, big-time logging operations. He's being credited of shaving all those mountains of precious trees.

What would happen to Palawan should Alvarez become successful in his bid for governor? Alvarez, some say, is thinking of the billions of dollars worth of petrol dollars lying dormant in that province and those billions more from commercial tourism. For those who love Palawan, go there now. Take tons of pictures. Take some wildlife if you can, and even trees and wild scrubs. Because when Don Alvarez becomes successful and take over Palawan politics, you may not see one single living wildlife there.