Playing with Fire
A ‘superman’ in our midst
By Gonzalo Duque
WE were simply glad, awed, too, we met anew our old and durable friend, Attorney Reynaldo A. Villar, older brother of newsmaker non pareil Presidential Anti Smuggling Group chief Bebot Villar at the birthday party of the congresswoman wife of Congresswoman Naid Ang Ping, lovely wife of our former Philippine Jaycees colleague Harry Ang Ping of the Philippine Sports Commission.
Thoughtful, self-effacing, handsome and decorous, Rey, for the information of our readers and “guidance” of our government officials including those in the Supreme Court and Malacañang has been constitutionally mandated to audit their salaries, emoluments, allowances and perks of their offices.
After he was installed in office as chairman of the Commission on Audit, Rey Villar, in our book, has towered over all other government officials as the largest shadow over how they (government officials) would use or spend public funds for good or ill.
He can even audit the President and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court! What an enviable position! So, lumalabas na si Rey ang pinakasiga sa lahat ng ating mga government officials ano?
Rey took up law at the Ateneo and for a while and then was an associate of the international law office of the late Eugene Tan. At the Ateneo, Rey showed his keen legal mind as a brilliant law student. He later married a beauty from Dagupan, the former Lilli Concepcion who used to work at the OWWA.
Hindi mayabang si Rey, but in our book, he is, we wish to stress, the most powerful official in the Philippine government for the aforecited reasons. Pag bumisita siya sa opisina, everybody cowers in fear especially those who have many things to hide.
So when he gives you, government factotum, a passing grade, it would mean ok at malinis, pasado ang pinanggamit ninyo ng people’s or taxpayers’ money. Pag medyo may mga question mark at ano pa man, onggiwgiw so malikot ya public official. No binonineng to tay libro, say opisyal ya under investigation, ag makareen, ngalngali makasirit o makatae tan magulo so otek to, because Rey is assisted by the best and most discriminating and discerning fiscal investigators. If you ask us, he is the best reason why the Arroyo government is still ok in spite of known corruption activities among some government officials. Villar and his COA group will comb all figures with the greatest care. Walang pinapalampas si Rey when it comes to auditing public funds. The country is lucky to have a thoughtful and tooth-ful COA under Rey.
The gentleman from Carmen, Rosales must have inherited his straight and incorruptible ways from the late old man Lakay Tonieng, a stickler for honesty and probity. Sa kanya (Lakay Tonieng) nagmana rin si Bebotang sa kanyang pagiging nemesis ng mga grafters. We should know because papang, the late Governor Paco, was only a rung higher than then Vice Gov. Tonieng Villar. They were both at the helm of a graft-free Pangasinan in the days of yore. Let’s hope that that golden tradition is carried over under Gov. Spines in full splendor.
We wish to doff our hat to Rey for his sagacious energy in protecting the people’s money and for the high responsibility that he has put into his work, a symbol of trust and, if truth be told, power, and for being humble and friendly, as usual.
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NOTES: The nation was jolted by the controversial death of Trinidad Failon, wife of broadcaster Ted Failon. The reports were confusing because of the peculiar circumstances around the alleged suicide.
Why was the comfort room, alleged venue of the killing, cleaned of blood stains? And also the vehicle that brought her to the hospital? Why was cleaned, too?
A veteran reporter of Failon’s stature couldn’t have escaped his elementary knowledge that in a murder case or in this particular self-inflicted killing, no one should have been allowed to tamper with marks that would help investigators unearth the truth.
We pity the Failons for the tragic incident. Let’s hope that kind of tragedy wont’ happen to any of you, dear readers.
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