Villar Foundation conducts livelihood training for Pangasinenses

Cynthia Villar

By MORTZ C. ORTIGOZA

LINGAYEN – The Villar Foundation has started training residents of several towns in Pangasinan for their livelihood projects.
According to Cynthia Villar, a senatorial bet, people from Santa Barbara, Malasiqui, Calasiao, and San Fabian are being trained to make water lily stalks into basket and furniture. They were also given sacks of organic fertilizer. “ Santa Barbara, Malasiqui, and Calasiao have common river with water lilies. We will train them to make water lilies into basket, furniture, to remove the wate lily in the river because it could be the source of the flooding there,” Villar, who was the crowning guest during the coronation night of the fiesta queen recently, said.
 She said San Fabian Mayor Irene Libunao played a pro-active role in the promotion of the livelihood programs of the Villar Foundation.
The wife of outgoing Senator Manny Villar said many residents of San Fabian have received already organic fertilizers. “Namimigay kami ng organic fertilizer sa mga farmers sa Las Pinas kasi marami kaming production ng organic fertilizer out of kitchens. Hindi naman namin kayang ubosin iyong 30,000 kilos. Dito sa Pangasinan gustong gusto nila iyon.” Villar stressed that those projects she gives to the people are not for one person but for the whole community. Villar was here on invitation of Lingayen Mayor Ernesto Castaneda and vice mayoralty candidate Ford Flores, a family friend, to be the crowing guest of Miss Lingayen 2013 held at the town plaza. Villar has been tirelessly barnstorming the 44 towns and four cities of Pangasinan for the past months. She had been to Mangaldan, Malasiqui, and Manaoag with provincial political bigwigs like Rosendo So,the chairman of Abono Party-list, and the party’s first congressional nominee Conrad Estrella. A political spectator who asked anonymity was impressed by Villar's tireless hustings in different provinces weekly. "The support she gives to the people in Mindanao who were affected by Typhoon Pablo by providing them livelihood and houses could be etched into the memory of the Filipinos and would surely land her as No. 1 in future surveys of Pulse Asia or Social Weather Station," the spectator said. In the latest poll by Pulse Asia published in December last year, Villar said was No. 4. “Lumabas na iyong No.4 noong December. Actually July (2012) I was at No. 13, September (2012) I was at No. 9 then (becoming) No. 4 na,” she explained