Senator Manuel Villar, left, and new Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile.MANILA, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Nov. 17, 2009) – Philippines Senate President Manuel Villar has resigned Monday after losing the crucial support in the upper chamber.
Senator Juan Ponce Enrile is the new Senate President, said Senator Aquilino Pimentel, an ally of Villar.
"I always respected the views of my colleagues," Villar said.
Villar’s resignation came just barely two months after Senator Maria Ana Consuelo Madrigal demanded his resignation over the controversial C-5 road extension project in Manila.
Madrigal claimed Villar's companies, particularly the Britanny Corporation, benefited from the government projects he himself espoused. She said in just 14 years, Britanny, formerly Azalea Corporation, was able to gain a profit amounting to P414 million from its capital of only P5.6 million. Villar strongly denied any wrongdoing.
Enrile was originally a protege of late dictator Ferdinand Marcos. He later became a leader in the 1986 People Power revolution that drove Marcos from power. (Mindanao Examiner)
