LP: Villar converted rice lands for Iloilo subdivision

ILOILO CITY - A Liberal Party stalwart on Friday said Nacionalista Party standard bearer Manuel Villar Jr. facilitated the illegal conversion of prime rice lands in an Iloilo town to build a subdivision for his real estate development company Camella Homes. LP senatorial bet Franklin Drilon, a former Senate president and justice secretary who hails from Iloilo, also said Villar had a road built along Jibao-an in Pavia town, which will pass in front of Savannah subdivision in Brgy. Polo Maestra Vita in Oton town. The Camella Homes website features Savannah subdivisions in Iloilo as one of its properties. "This is what we call C-5 and a half," said Drilon at a press conference in Sta. Barbara Town in Iloilo, referring to the C-5 road extension controversy Villar was embroiled in. Villar immediately denied the allegation, saying his companies were open to public scrutiny. "Mga public companies iyan na binabantayan ng Securities and Exchange Commission at lahat ng agencies ng government. Puwede iyan tignan ng kahit na sino," he told reporters after the mini-rally of the NP in Tanza, Cavite. "Walang nilalabag na batas (ang mga kumpanya ko). Walang inagrabyado, at lalong walang niloloko sa publiko. Marangal na ginagawa iyan," Villar added. The senator branded the allegation as another round of mudslinging against him. "Hindi ko malaman kung ano na namang mga akusasyon na inimbento 'yan. Basta may proseso iyan at naaayon sa batas. Nagtataka ako sa kanilang sinasabi. Ito ay kasama ng paninira sa akin," Villar said. First-class irrigated rice lands Drilon presented to reporters copies of tax declarations from farmer-beneficiaries showing that the 12.7-hectare land converted by Villar's Crown Communities – better known as Camella Homes – used to be first-class irrigated rice lands. These rice farms are covered by the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) and are therefore not subject to land conversion, Drilon said. According to Iloilo provincial administrator Manuel Mejorada, the application for the land's conversion from agricultural to residential was filed by two farmer-beneficiaries represented by executives of Camella Homes and approved in 2007. But Villar's corporation began developing the land as early as 2000, and even had a 586-meter road built in front of it in 2004, he said. "Regardless if (the road) is only half a kilometer, it shows the lack of decency on the part of the developer, Senator Manny Villar, and simply would set aside all interest of the CARP beneficiaries in order to be able to pursue his business interests," Drilon said. "The C5 controversy is simply the tip of the iceberg, it is a pattern we now see. We are aware of other subdivisions all over the country where similar practice was followed," he added. Mejorada showed Special Allotment Release Order (SARO) 2004-249 from the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) Region 6 dated June 16, 2004, stating the P4-million public works project purportedly request by Villar. He said 88 farmers had been awarded Certificates of Land Ownership (CLOA) for shares in the land ranging from less than a hectare to three hectares prior to the conversion. Had the 12.7-hectare land not been converted, it would have produced 250 cavans of rice for every hectare, Mejorada said. "We are in the process of documenting all of this, and we will file appropriate charges versus Senator Villar in the appropriate forum," said Mejorada, who has been administrator of the province from 2004. He served as acting administrator starting 2001. It was not immediately clear why the provincial government did not act on the land conversion issue earlier. Mejorada said he had heard of rumors about Villar's project in Iloilo, but he only began looking for documents when the C-5 controversy blew over in the Senate a few weeks ago. "Our interest was triggered by the controversy of the C-5 road extension," he said. NP bet catching up with LP candidate Former DAR Secretary Rene Villa, who refused to sign the conversion order in 2004 because the land was covered by CARP, said the approval of the conversion of the land may have something to do with Villar's status as Senate President at the time. "It's really possible talagang di ma-convert unless there is a collusion between the developer and the Department of Agrarian Reform which may have happened in this case," said Villa. LP standard bearer Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III lamented the conversion of the agricultural land, and noted that Iloilo is the third largest producer of rice in the country. "We are already the largest importer [of rice] and allowing things like this will make the situation even worse," Aquino said. Sought for comment on the issue, Nacionalista Party senatorial candidate and spokesman Adel Tamano branded the new allegation as "cheap mudslinging" against Villar. "I'm so surprised how Noynoy and the LP can stoop this low. At the start of campaign, lamang sila... They kept on saying na 'wag tayo magtapunan ng putik, i-raise natin yung level ng debate at platform lang ang pag-uusapan natin. Ngayon na nag-equal na ang kandidato namin sa kanila, e biglang nagtapon sila ng kung anu-anong alegasyon," Tamano told GMANews.TV. (The LP kept on saying there should be no mudslinging during the campaigns, that we should raise the level of debate and discuss platforms instead. Now that the NP's presidential bet is catching up with LP's, they suddenly began hurling allegations at Villar) Aquino and other LP candidates are in Iloilo to campaign for the May 10 elections. It is the second province they have visited since the start of the official election campaign period last Tuesday. The first was Tarlac, Aquino's hometown. - with a report from Amita Legaspi/LBG/RSJ, GMANews.TV