Cynthia Villar 

Cynthia Villar is a senator in the 19th Congress, serving her second term since 2013.

Like her husband, former Senate president Manny Villar, she began her political career as Las Piñas representative, a position she held for three consecutive terms, from 2001 to 2010. She took a break from politics after her husband lost in the 2010 presidential election, and made a successful comeback in 2013, this time for a Senate bid.

Before her foray into politics, Villar worked as a financial analyst and college professor until she got married in 1975. She later managed a private development bank from 1989 to 1998. A savvy businesswoman, she and Manny Villar built Vista Land into the biggest home developer in the country.

Villar has been accused of blocking policies seen as unfavorable to her family’s business ventures, which she has repeatedly denied. In 2018, the Campaign for Land Use Policy Now accused her of using her chairmanship of the Senate committees on agriculture and food, agrarian reform, and environment and natural resources to favor Vista Land. Villar, who is not in favor of the national land use bill, categorically denied the allegation.

In 2022, during the plenary deliberations on the Department of Agriculture’s proposed 2023 budget, she clashed with Senator Raffy Tulfo over the conversion of farmlands into residential or commercial areas.

Villar is the principal author and proponent of the 2019 Rice Tariffication Law, which is envisioned to bring down rice prices but has been widely opposed by farmers’ groups as it lacks safety nets for farmers. Experts have also said that liberalizing rice imports will not solve the country’s inflation problem. The House of Representatives passed the proposed amendments to the law. Villar’s panel is conducting public hearings on the bill.

Villar is known for her environmental advocacies. She founded and chaired the Villar Foundation (now Villar Social Institute for Poverty Alleviation and Governance or Villar SIPAG). Among its programs are assistance to OFWs, environment protection including the establishment of the Las Piñas-Parañaque Wetland Park, agricultural training in farm schools in Cavite, Bulacan, Iloilo and Davao; and the establishment of livelihood projects nationwide.

Villar earned her business administration degree from the University of the Philippines, and her Masters in business administration from New York University.