Amid C-5 controversy, Enrile claims getting 'offers' from Villar

In the thick of the controversy linking Senator Manuel Villar Jr. to purported anomalies surrounding the C-5 Road Extension project, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile on Tuesday claimed the embattled presidential candidate offered him help when they discussed the matter in one of their meetings. Enrile made the disclosure on Tuesday, a day after he presented the Senate Committee of the Whole's report seeking Villar’s censure for supposedly exerting his influence on the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) so that his properties would benefit from the road project. In an interview on dzMM, Enrile quoted Villar as repeatedly asking whether he (Enrile) needed help on anything: “Paulit-ulit, kung mayroon kang kailangan (Repeatedly, he asked me if I needed help)." Enrile said he brushed aside Villar’s offer. “Wala akong kailangan from Manny (I do not need anything from Manny)." GMANews.TV tried to reach Villar’s camp and the Nacionalista Party for comment on Enrile's claim, but none of their spokespersons answered the phone. The Senate Committee of the Whole said Villar should return the P6.22 billion the government lost because of alleged anomalies that benefited Villar in the construction of the C-5 Road Extension project. The road extension was supposedly realigned from the government’s original plan and made to pass through Villar’s properties to gain a road-right-of-way compensation, which the Senate found to be overpriced. Villar has repeatedly said the C-5 Road Extension project was not realigned from the government’s original plan, and that he did not benefit from the controversial project. - LBG, GMANews.TV