In an interview, the presidential aspirant Sen. Richard “Dick” Gordon told the press that his fellow senator and presidential aspirant tried to buy him out of the presidential race. Gordon said to ANC’s Top Story that Manny Villar sent an emissary to bribe him by offering a Cabinet position and reimbursement of his campaign expenses in exchange for backing out of the presidential race.

Sen. Gordon said that the offer was made during the last week of January where the issue of the Senate Committee of the Whole’s report recommending the censure of Villar for unethical conduct in connection with the C-5 road project is on its height.

According to Gordon, the main objective of the Villar camp is to convince him to side Villar so that they would be able to oust Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile as Senate president and stop the Senate plenary deliberations on the ethics case.

Gordon said the emissary was a “former Cabinet official of yesteryears,” and a “businessman, not a political operator.” He said the emissary was “just trying to be a friend to his friend” and was just “delivering a message” for Villar.

“Quite frankly, I was [also] put off by it,” Gordon said.

Asked why he only disclosed the bribe try during the presidential campaign, Gordon said he really had no intention of revealing it since he had promised that he would not tell.

However, Gordon said it “just came off the cuff” during the radio interview Tuesday morning since he is fed up with Villar camp’s propensity to use his money to get what he wants, including the presidency.

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