[Rappler’s Best] Ah, the Villars

It’s February, just the second month of the year. But it’s been a lot — here and elsewhere (hello, America) — that the Year of the Horse seems to be truly galloping its way into our lives.

I’d like to take this chance to thank you for taking the time to read this newsletter, which is sent to your inbox every Monday morning. Starting next Monday, February 9, Rappler’s Best will now be sent only to Rappler+ subscribers — aside from you, of course, who have been loyal readers over time. (Though we’d greatly appreciate it if you’d extend your support to our journalism by joining Plus through this link.)

Now who would have thought it would come to this? Nearly two decades ago, the presidency was within Manny Villar’s grasp until the son of Cory Aquino came from behind following her death — a grieving and grateful nation choosing him over the business tycoon and his vaunted machine.

While that defeat closed the doors on the Villar patriarch, it opened the gates to his wife Cynthia, his son Mark, and his daughter Camille, who — one by one — ran and won senatorial seats. Two of the Villar children are senators today.

But also today, all of them, plus another son Paolo, face a criminal complaint from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over accusations of deceiving the investing public through alleged insider trading, manipulating the stock market, and making misleading disclosures about Villar Land Holdings Corporation, which is publicly listed.

• To recall, we exposed Villar Land’s “astonishing story” almost a year ago. Val Villanueva called its declared net income a trillion-peso mirage. In fact, 2025 rattled the Villars’ business and political fortunes (they got defeated in their bailiwick and Camille narrowly made it to the Magic 12 in the Senate). Watch Dwight de Leon’s recap of the past year for the Villars.
• The SEC complaint against Villar Land before the justice department also alleges that two of its related companies engaged in trading activities that artificially supported the price of Villar Land’s shares.
• In November, the SEC confirmed that the appraisal that underpinned Villar’s “paper empire” was inflated and failed to comply with international standards. 
• Val writes that the implications of the SEC complaint go beyond the Villars’ stock. It’s a “defining test” of whether or not regulators can hold big business to account — despite their power and connections. Read more about it in this Vantage Point piece.

And we’re not even talking about PrimeWater here.

It’s the feudal, rent-seeking nature of our economy that’s weighing it down. The mind-boggling flood control scandal last year further slowed down our growth, hitting 4.4% by yearend — the lowest GDP growth in 14 years (to exclude the pandemic years). Corruption has been a key factor, writes JC Punongbayan, adding that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is going to “bequeath an economy that’s nearly grinding to a halt.” 

Former budget secretary Butch Abad weighs in on one aspect: the foreign-assisted projects that, for four years, have been defunded. What’s the consequence? Abad spells it out in this piece: “Idle loans. Delayed infrastructure. Rising costs. Missed jobs. And communities left exposed to floods, congestion, high prices — while public money flowed elsewhere.”

Marcos can’t afford to underestimate the challenges ahead. A massive protest rally is being planned on February 25, the 40th anniversary of the EDSA People Power Revolution that ousted his dictator-father. 

Ironically, it’s the state of the economy that may also help him survive the turbulence. “The decisive reason revolt has fallen out of fashion is not political fatigue or civic apathy,” writes Val Villanueva. “It is economic reality.” Read more.

Here are some of Rappler’s bests that you shouldn’t miss:

Dwight de Leon gives us a reality check about the feasibility of a law against political dynasties.

Val Villanueva exposes the one big vulnerability of the Development Bank of the Philippines in the form of non-performing loans.

John Nery sits down with Karol Mark Yee to tackle the dire straits Philippine education is in, and a possible path forward.

Gelo Gonzales takes apart the surveillance technologies used by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and why this should matter to you. 

Oscar Quiambao writes about the Filipino Americans who support ICE’s campaign against immigrants. 

Marites Vitug takes us to a world tour of our defense partnerships with various countries.

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– Rappler.com

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The views expressed by the writer are his/her own and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of Rappler.