Senator Manny Villar, who is now on his last term as a senator, may return to private life as a businessman after 2013 elections, but his wife, former Las Piñas Rep. Cynthia Villar, is eyeing a Senate seat next year.

Mrs. Villar, who visited Negros Occidental twice in two weeks, however, said she will always rally behind her husband, whatever his plans are for the future.

But one thing is sure, he will go back to private life, after 2013, she said.

Senator Villar, a former House Speaker and Senate president, had lost in the 2010 presidential elections.

Asked if her husband will run again in the 2016 presidential race, Mrs. Villar replied “We cannot predict the future. You never say never, as of this time”.

She said she is still feeling the pulse of the people,to determine if she has a fighting chance to become a senator, like her husband.

In an interview at the Provincial Capitol, Mrs. Villar said she visited Govenor Alfredo Marañon Jr. and Vice-Governor Genaro Alvarez Jr, who used to be her husband’s colleagues in the House of Representaives, to renew ties with them.

Mrs. Villar has been criticized for allegedly using their foundation as her launching pad for her political plans in 2013, as seen in television advertisement.

Ignoring the criticisms, she said that the Villar Foundation, which is now on its 20th year, will continue to help the Filipino people, especially overseas workers, who find themselves in distress.

She said the Villar Foundation will extend help to Alfred Salmos, an overseas Filipino worker who was severely electrocuted two years ago in Saudi Arabia, in his hospitalization in the Philippines, and provide his family with an alternative livelihood.

Mrs. Villar said the Nacionalista Party,which already has members in Negros Occidental, will support the congressional bid of Board Member Emilio Yulo III, who is vying for the vacant 5th district congressional seat in the province.*GPB

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