Villar's other woman

CEBU, Philippines - He sees the need to sell not houses, but romance! So he named his business venture in housing developments after a soft-sounding name. Former Senator Manuel "Manny" Villar even considers Camella his fourth woman.

"I'm surrounded with Cs - beautiful women in my life that make me stay empowered," he said during a brief encounter at the Palazzo di Azienda last March 2 to mark the formal introduction of the real estate development to the media.

"Wala naman sigurong Camella na lalaki, ano? So I consider Camella the fourth woman in my life. Together with my mom Coritha, my wife Cynthia, and my daughter Camille, Camella has her share of my time and attention, especially now that we have ventured into areas not taken up by most developers," he shared.

Villar noted that he is happy Camella is now eating up most of his time. "I had offered myself to the nation para sabay-sabay tayong umasenso, kaya lang ayaw nila yumaman, ako na lang," he said in jest.

His life, now out of political circuitry, revolves around improving models of various Vista Land Company brands, and this recent project in upland Talisay --- the Palazzo (Una Galleria Della Vita Italiana Elegante).

"As the name suggests, we would want to bring Italy to this community. Alam ninyo naman ang mga clients natin, gustong-gusto ang ambiance ng Europe, fascinated with European culture. They dream of France, of Milan; they dream of Venice. So we would want to nourish that dream," he vowed.

The same is true with the Camella Montserrat development in Pajac, Lapu-Lapu City. Many clients seek the feel of that breezy living in the Caribbean, so now they are provided with a community that captures the feel of fresh living.

Villar is happy to announce that despite the odds, Camella's presence in five major cities and areas here in the province boosts the status of the company. "Hindi lang talaga kasi kami maingay. Kumbaga, low-profile lang kami pero malakas kami," he said, citing 35 hectares of development in Mactan, 80 hectares in Talamban, one hectare (inner city) in Guadalupe, 100 hectares in Talisay, 30 hectares in Carcar City or a total of 246 hectares, to date, in Cebu Province in its 21 years here.

“In terms of sales, we're way ahead of competition. Hindi lang kami masyadong nag-iingay. People think Camella's small, but no, we're the largest in terms of residential units and condo projects. We have 17 condo projects in Manila, alone, and our entry into condos is very successful, thanks to our stakeholders," he emphasized.

He also shared his excitement on the Azienda Talisay project, as this comes with a commercial area – the Camella Plaza - to open soon on a one-hectare property and will be featuring a supermarket, restaurants, and community conveniences.

In Mactan, Camella has also introduced its first condo homes project. This means that Camella packages cut across all market segments: Lessandra Series that's available for as low as P600,000; Camella Series with packages starting at P1.7 million; inner city (Guadalupe) which starts at P4.4 million; and mid-cost which starts at P4 million (Riverdale).

Riverdale situated in Pit-os, Talamban is the first and only exclusive community offering over 2,500 pine trees creating the perfect green environment for the family, with scenic views, lush greenery, cool temperatures and terrain homes offering an ambiance of relaxation.

Pasadena, on the other hand, is an upscale Spanish-Italian inspired community in Guadalupe, Cebu City. The villas, quadrilles, and townhomes of Pasadena exude old-world charm with earth-toned walls and cobbled pathways promising a lifestyle of privilege, privacy and prestige.

Villar said he would be seeing more of Camella openings closely now that he's contemplating on retirement from the political arena. “I'll even be coming back to Cebu, more on the business side. Because though Cebu is a very tough market, I see the industry of the people, and it's nice to be winning the confidence of a very difficult market."

"Cebu is an extremely difficult province, very rocky ang terrain plus problema sa water supply. It's either mountainous or close to the sea; or it has no water. Kaya kami nahirapan dito. Ang hirap ng documents pa. But I see that God has a way of balancing things. Since the province's terrain is very poor and rugged, He gives Cebu people who are industrious and persistent, very hardworking and more enterprising, not much in land, hindi ma-farmer, but more of the businessman, that's why this is the second most prosperous region in the country. Parang Singapore, absolutely no resources, just the people. But the challenge is here."

And because his mother has taught him so well to take up the challenge on a positive light, he will be coming back to Cebu frequently in the next years.

"We intend to blaze trail again, actually in the last 10 years we were able to transform Camella into something different, medyo na-le-late na nga ang Cebu with improved models and technology; a lot more emphasis on the environment. Binabalikan namin yung mga lumang subdivisions to do some kind of replanting. And what's nice about Camella is that it has always been a family affair. Sama-sama kaming nagdedecide what new areas to develop (Candon in Ilocos Sur and Puerto Princesa City in Palawan, to name a few) or strengthen our brands - Lessandra, Linea, Brittany, etcetera. We'll make people see the new more empowered Camella, being a world-class housing company." (FREEMAN)