Senator Cynthia Villar has clarified the viral video showing her confronting Las Piñas Councilor Mark Anthony Santos inside a church.
Santos is running against Villar for the congressional seat of Las Piñas in the 2025 elections.
The footage, reportedly captured inside Our Lady of Fatima Church in Brgy. Pamplona Dos, shows Villar approaching Santos in the pews.
Villar explained in an interview that she did not intend to confront the councilor aggressively.
The senator claimed that Santos’s camp had been paying media to discredit the Villar family.
Villar said she only approached Santos to request he stop greeting them if he would continue to disparage her family.
She also addressed criticisms and backlash she received after the video went viral.
“Siyempre, I like to believe na ang laki ng performance ko. Kaya wala naman silang magagawa kundi gawin ‘yon,” (Of course, I like to believe that my performance has been impressive. So they have no choice but to resort to that) Villar stated.