Jamby Madrigal: Lone female bet goes solo in presidential race

She is often seen during campaigns in her striking neon-green blazer, shaking hands with people in market places and distributing her trademark bracelets. In presidential debates, she dauntlessly discusses her “nationalist and pro-Filipino" plan for the country—a platform centered on regaining the country’s sovereignty and addressing environmental issues. The lone female contender in the presidential race, she is boldly running a solo campaign to prove that she is a “non-traditional" candidate. But are these enough to make Senator Maria Ana Consuelo “Jamby" Madrigal the Philippines’ third woman president? If various pre-election preference surveys are to be believed, the 52-year old Madrigal still has a lot of catching up to do in the race to Malacanang. She has been a consistent cellar dweller in various presidential preference polls, registering survey ratings below one percent. The feisty senator, however, has said she does not believe these surveys. “Kung sinunod ko ‘yung mga survey, hindi sana ako nanalong senador kasi hindi ako nagbabayad (kaya) talagang hinuhulog ako. ‘Yung surveys sa akin ngayon ay napakahirap paniwalaan," Madrigal said in an interview on GMA 7’s “Kandidato." Public servant Prior to her presidential bid, Madrigal was in government service for 18 years under three different administrations. During the Ramos presidency, she served as an undersecretary of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD). In 1999, she was appointed by then President Joseph Estrada as Presidential Adviser for Children’s Affairs—a post she held for three years. She took a shot at legislative work by running as senator in the 2001 elections, but only ranked 23rd among the 37 candidates aspiring for the post. In 2004, Madrigal ran again as senator and this time, she made it to the magic 12. She finished fourth place with more than 13 million votes, her stunning victory often attributed to the endorsement from her supposed look-alike, popular actress Judy Ann Santos. However, her victory was marred by accusations from fellow senator Juan Ponce Enrile that Madrigal committed electoral fraud. Enrile, who ranked ninth in the 2004 polls, said he overheard Madrigal telling someone over the phone to ensure that she lands one of the top five senatorial slots. Madrigal denied the allegations, saying Enrile was “misinformed" by people who wanted to “defame" her character. During her six-year stint in the Senate, Madrigal authored and supported a number of bills, most of them advocating the rights of women and children such as the Anti-Child Pornography Act. Madrigal also served as chairwoman in three Senate committees including the Senate Committee on Youth, Women and Family Relations, which was instrumental in the enactment of the Magna Carta of Women. Madrigal’s voting record in the Senate shows liberal leanings. She thumbed down the controversial Anti-Terrorism Law (RA 9372) as well as the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement, which many protesters feared would result in unequal trade between the two countries. She also sought to repeal the Mining Act of 1995, which many environment and indigenous people’s groups have criticized for causing damage to the country’s natural resources. Staunch Villar critic In 2009, Madrigal accused fellow senator and presidential aspirant Manuel Villar Jr. of using his position as then Senate president to realign a road project in order to gain benefits for his real estate properties. Madrigal’s expose later filed an ethics complaint against Villar in what came to be known as the C5 road extension controversy. “’Yung hinabla kong kaso kay Senator Villar ay isa sa pinakamalaki na, kasi sabi na masisira ka sa pulitika, babatikusin ka. Sabi ko, titiisin ko lahat para lumabas ang katotohanan para hindi niya lokohin ang taong bayan," she said. After a lengthy investigation, the Senate Committee of the Whole found out that Villar indeed exerted influence on government agencies so that the road will pass through his real estate properties, but Villar dodged a potential censure from his colleagues due to lack of quorum. Despite the seeming defeat, Madrigal has continued criticizing the Nacionalista Party (NP) standard-bearer, even referring to Villar as “the face of corruption" in one interview. Villar’s camp has responded to Madrigal’s tirades by saying these are politically motivated issues that are meant to derail the NP bet’s candidacy. Villar spokesman Gilbert Remulla once described Madrigal as “kuryente queen" for allegedly feeding false information to news people. A solo campaign In December last year, Madrigal filed her certificate of candidacy (COC) for president, determined to pull off a one-woman show in her bid for the country’s top post. Madrigal said she chose to run as an independent candidate, without any running mate or political party, to avoid getting indebted to big business firms that fuel the campaign machineries of various candidates. "I shall run without a vice president and without a senatorial slate to allow all like-minded candidates and people to unite under a shared and genuine progressive vision and platform of government based on principled politics," she said in an interview with GMANews.TV after she filed her COC. She said her family—the wealthy Madrigal clan of the Visayas—has left her “enough money to run a decent campaign." True enough, Madrigal has quite a sufficient campaign kitty even if she just relies on her personal wealth alone. According to her 2008 statement of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN), she has a total net worth of over P145 million—making her the third richest of the nine presidential aspirants. In the same SALN, Madrigal declared business interests in the manning agency A.P. Madrigal Steamship and other firms such as Sycamore Holdings Inc., The Solid Guaranty Inc. and Uniterra Holdings Inc., where she holds positions in the board of directors. “Ako naman hindi ko itinatago na ang aking pamilya ay dati nang mayaman, pero ang yaman na ito ay hindi ko kinuha sa taong bayan," she said in GMA 7’s “Votebook." Despite being a multimillionaire, Madrigal still figured in a controversy involving her family’s wealth and inheritance. In 2008, she filed a case before a Makati court questioning the validity of the last will and testament of her aunt, billionaire Consuelo Madrigal-Collantes. Madrigal was left out of the will that bequeaths Collantes’ wealth—which the court pegged at P26 billion—to her husband, nieces and grandchildren. In March 2009, the court ruled against Madrigal and ordered with finality that the wealth be distributed to the beneficiaries stated in the will. ‘Nationalist’ platform’ Throughout her campaign, Madrigal has consistently stood for a “nationalist, pro-Filipino" platform, arguing that the Philippines should strengthen itself first before opening up to other countries. [See Jamby’s full platform here] “Walang bayan na yumaman na hindi muna naging nationalist. Tingnan mo ang Taiwan, Japan, Thailand, India, China. Sila ay mga closed economies. Hindi sila sumali sa globalization hanggang sa naging malakas na sila," she said in an interview with the GMA program Kandidato. Madrigal said she wants to “Filipinize the economy" by developing “core Filipino industries" such as the use of herbal medicines and local raw materials. She also wants to “dismantle various local monopolies and cartels" such as those in the power and oil industries, to give Filipinos an opportunity to gain economic control over these sectors. Madrigal vowed to rid the country of corruption by ordering an extensive audit of government offices if she is elected into office. “Ipapa-audit ko lahat ng departments… Parating sinasabi, may kakulangan ang pondo. Para sa akin, hindi tama iyon. May kumukuha ng pondo kaya kumukulang," she said. Although she lags behind in the surveys, Madrigal believes her clear stand on various issues gives her an edge against the more “powerhouse" candidates and will ultimately give her victory in the May polls. “Meron akong puso para sa taong bayan, panindigan at ako’y nagiging matapang, siguro makulit laban sa corruption. Hindi ako natatakot na ibuwag yung masasama at yung puso ko para sa taong bayan. My record in the Senate will speak for itself," she said. – YA/GMANews.TV