WATCH: Why the Villar family’s real estate interests are an election issue

Rappler reporter Dwight de Leon explains the doomed fate of the national land use bill in the last decade, and the role that the Villar family plays

MANILA, Philippines – House Deputy Speaker Camille Villar is running for senator in the 2025 midterm elections, seeking to succeed her term-limited mother Cynthia.

As chairperson of the upper chamber’s environment committee, Senator Cynthia has stalled deliberations on the national land use bill, even though former president Rodrigo Duterte and his successor Ferdinand Marcos Jr. listed it as a priority measure.

In this video, Rappler reporter Dwight de Leon explains why senatorial candidates’ promise to pass the land use bill requires a higher level of political will, which means not just publicly expressing their support for the measure, but guaranteeing they would back a change in leadership in the environment committee if they get elected. – Rappler.com