Villar takes over Senate,
promises ‘creative’ chamber

NEWLY elected Senate president Manuel Villar, Jr. opened today the 3rd regular session of the 13th Congress with a promise to “unequivocally uphold” the Senate’s independence as an instrument of checking government.

“My leadership shall remain faithful to this noble tradition,” Villar said this morning.

Villar takes over the Senate presidency from Sen. Franklin Drilon, according to a “term-sharing agreement” that was reached in 2004.

Villar, in his speech, spoke of criticisms that the Senate had not acted with the same zeal as the House of Representatives in legislating important measures. Calls for charter change have necessarily come with pleadings for a unicameral parliament, with advocates saying such will result in more efficient lawmaking and governance.

“Those who are not comfortable with the dynamics of democracy, with its noise and glare,” said Villar, “see only the specter of obstruction when all that we seek is truth, integrity, and accountability in government.”

Villar listed what he said will be the Senate’s main concerns under his term: high population growth rates; global terrorism; inflation; poor education system; unaffordable health services; backward agriculture; and the plight of overseas workers.

“We must do much more than what has been accomplished,” Villar said.

To respond to the country’s needs, Villar said, the Senate must be “creative” and able to “reinvent itself.”

“To be able to break out of our comfort zone,” said Villar, “we must dream of things that never were. We must have the courage to test the limits of what is possible.”