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MANILA, PHILIPPINES — Senator Cynthia Biller on Wednesday defended a plan for the University of the Philippines (UP) to award her son and fellow senator Marc Biller an honorary degree, saying he “helped the UP a lot.” said.
Cynthia boasted that she was the first in her family to receive an honorary degree from UP Los Banos University.
“He (Mark) helped UP so much that I think it was given. Ako, I’ll help [with] There is a lot of farming, so they gave me [one] Los Banos. So the moral of the story is that you contribute a lot to the UP,” she said on her Manila Bay forum.
(I think he was given it because he helped the UP a lot. They gave it to me in Los Baños because I help out a lot with the farms. Moral of the story: you can help the UP. It helps a lot.)
Cynthia added that her husband, billionaire and former Senate Speaker Manuel Villal Jr., also recently donated five hectares of land in Dasmarinas, Cavite province, to build a new business school for UP.
But senators are uncertain if the building will be named after their family members, as was done for UP Bonifacio Global City, donated by SM conglomerate led by tycoon Henry Shi Sr. said not.
READ: Henry Sy donates P400M BGC building to UP
Cynthia also revealed that she encouraged Mark to run because he plans to leave the Senate seat within a few years.
“I’m leaving in 2025 so it’s his turn. I’m retiring soon,” she said in English and Filipino.
However, Cynthia did not deny rumors that she could run for mayor of Las Piñas after completing her term in Congress.
Issues of land grabbing and development aggression
The move to give Mark a causal link of honor was strongly opposed by the UP office of the Student Regent.
“He contributed to several infrastructure projects at the university as secretary of public works and highways, but his character as a member of the Villars family needs to be investigated,” student regent Siegfried Severino said of UP. In a letter to President Danilo Concepcion. , Co-Chair of the UP Board.
Severino “pointed out some problems of land grabbing and development encroachment. [that] His family’s reputation was tarnished, and his tenure as DPWH secretary exacerbated these key issues. ”
“The awarding of an honorary degree to him seems to mask all these issues. I believe it is also based on their public character to those they are obliged to serve.
The OSR voted against awarding an honorary degree to Senator Marc Villard. pic.twitter.com/9ANpJ0AYcY
— UP Office of Student Regent (@uposr) January 23, 2023
The Villar family has built a business empire centered around the real estate sector, but has also expanded into shopping malls, convenience stores, coffee and pastry shops, banks and, most recently, the broadcast industry.
The patriarch of the family, Manny is the richest person in the Philippines and 263rd in the world with a net worth of approximately $8.3 billion, according to the 2022 Forbes World Billionaires List.
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