PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has admitted that Senator Cynthia Villar, the richest member of the Senate, supported him financially during the May 2016 presidential campaign, even if she was not declared in his Statement of Contributions and Expenditures submitted before the Commission on Elections.
Villar, with an estimated net worth of P3.606 billion by the end of 2016, helped him fund his television advertisements during the highly divisive electoral campaign, Duterte claimed.
“During the presidential debates, in between far and wide the debates, there was this intermission. You saw I had no advertisement. I had no money,” Duterte said Thursday of the lady solon, who was also present during an agriculture expo in Pasay.
“Buti na lang tumulong si Ma’am Cynthia. Tinulungan niya ako. I have to admit it, na tinulungan ako,” he added in his usual mix of Tagalog and English.
In his Soce filed before the Comelec last June 8, Duterte spent a total of P371.46 million for his highly successful election bid, despite his first time running for a national post.
Villar was not among those whom Duterte declared to have contributed in his campaign, along with Ilocos Norte Gov. Imee Marcos, whom he credited for being one of the few who supported his presidential bid.
Villar’s son, Mark, was tapped as Duterte’s Public Works and Highways secretary a week after the long-time Davao City mayor won the presidency.
