Manny Villar was ranked 117th overall in Forbes Magazine’s list of Billionaires for 2025 based on his estimated net worth of US$17.2 billion as of April 2025.  This also resulted in naming him at the time by the publication as the Philippines’ richest individual, besting 14 other Filipinos.  

Villar’s net worth was driven up by the P1.3 trillion ($22 billion) valuation of his development projects, essentially by his three property companies which own a total of 396.88 hectares of prime land in “Villar City,” the massive 3,500-hectare property, spanning 15 cities and towns across Metro Manila and Cavite.  

But by August 2025, in Forbes Magazine’s edition of the “50 Richest in the Philippines,” Villar was no longer number one on the leaderboard. On the list, he was ranked 3rd richest person in the country with a net worth of $11 billion only. The Sy siblings — the heirs to the SM group built by the late retail tycoon Henry Sy Sr. — took the top spot with $11.8 billion, followed by Enrique Razon Jr. with $11.5 billion, in second place. 

The drop in Villar’s net worth was prompted by what happened in May 2025: the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) suspended the trading of several Villar key firms. This included his flagship company, Villar Land Holdings Inc. (VLC), formerly Golden MV Holdings Inc. (HVN); Vista Land & Lifescapes Inc.; and Vistamalls Inc. — due to delays in filing their 2024 audited financial statements.  

VLC tried to explain that the financials of the company were “currently undergoing rigorous audit process.” The process included a comprehensive review of appraisal reports covering high-value properties, requiring extensive audit to ensure the accuracy and integrity of the financial statements. And once the audit is concluded, VLC gave the assurance that “the audited financial statements will be publicly released in full compliance with regulatory requirements.”

As talked about, the delay in reporting was actually caused by a disagreement with external auditors over the valuation of the 396.88 hectares of land in Villar City. This also led to the postponement of VLC’s annual stockholder’s meeting several times, which was finally held on December 29, 2025. The meeting was held via remote communication, with livestreaming accessible to registered participants.  

How the valuation issue was resolved

Villar Land Holdings’ auditors, Punongbayan & Araullo (P&A), rejected the fair market value method used by VLC’s management and insisted in reverting to the “cost basis,” forcing the land’s valuation down to P8.6 billion only.  

Early on, VLC hired E-Value Philippines, a third-party appraiser accredited by the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC). It came up with a P1.33-trillion land estimate, which VLC used to book a paper gain (meaning no actual sales and no cash was made) “of P999.72 billion in earnings and an income tax of P334.2 billion.” VLC listed this as deferred tax liabilities for the tax is not yet paid and only becomes due if the gains are realized as in the actual sale of the property.

To secure a final audit and meet delayed regulatory deadlines, VLC agreed to abandon their “fair value” model. Total assets were also slashed, falling from the unaudited P1.34 trillion to approximately P35.7 billion. The record-breaking P999 billion paper profit originally claimed by the company was effectively wiped out.

While P&A used in its the primary audit the cost basis, it submitted a final audit using the income approach to estimate fair value, and arrived at the much higher value of P52.74 billion.   

This was at least higher than the cost value of P8.6 billion. As I understand it, it was the selling prices of nearby properties that served as the basis of the final valuation. 

The accounting disagreement between VLC and its external auditors effectively made the former fail to submit its 2024 audited annual report and Q1 2025 quarterly report by the required deadlines. It also forced the trading suspension of VLCs shares for six months in 2025. The suspension began on May 16, 2025 and trading officially resumed on November 13, 2025. 

When trading resumed in November 2025, VLC’s share price had plunged by over 75%, erasing billions from Villar’s declared fortune six months earlier: Villar’s net worth traveled from a high of about $17.2 billion in March, then to $11.0 billion in August, and to around $4.3 billion by the end of the year.  

The drastic dropped in Villar’s net worth can be partly explained by the 70% one-day rout of VLC’s share price from P552.5 to P386.80 per share on November 19, 2025, at 09:41:04 am, which also triggered urgent inquiry by the Philippine Stock Exchange’s (PSE’s) Capital Markets Integrity Corporation (“CMIC”) to VLC for explanations.

Incidentally, the SEC revoked the accreditation of the appraiser, E-Value Philippines in November 2025. As of late, the company is said to have been also used for market manipulation. 

As of February 12, 2025, after all the massive asset write-down and lower-than-reported profits revealed in VLC’s audited financials and amid the latest investigations launched by the Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on the VLC issue, Manny Villar’s stars are about to sparkle, again: VLC’s share price has bounced back — rising 75% higher than its dismal trading close of P386.80 per share on November 19, 2025 — to P677 apiece.  

As is said in the vernacular on what comes next in unfolding amazing stories captivating the imagination, “Abangan!”

Octa’s TNM survey report

Dr. Guido David of OCTA Research was our guest at The Monday Circle Forum last Monday, February 9, for the result of their Q4 2025 Tugon ng Masa (TNM) Survey, which was also released to the public on the same day.  

The survey was conducted from December 3 to 11, 2025. Among the highlights of the survey: self-rated poverty fell by 17 points in self-rated poverty from 54% (Q3 2025) to 37% (Q4 2025). As noted, this is the largest single-quarter decline ever recorded in the OCTA TNM series. For context, Dr. David explained that this is equivalent to about 4.5 million families no longer considering themselves poor.

Next, is the decline in food poverty. This is not about hunger, “but the inability to purchase adequate, nutritious food, including lack of physical access or proximity to shops selling nutritious food, or  lacking the dignity of shopping for and cooking one’s own food, often relying on food banks or charity.” 

Self-rated food poverty declined by 19 points, from 49% to 30%. Again, Dr. David explained this as representative of roughly 5 million families no longer consider themselves “unable to access or afford a nutritious, healthy diet in a socially acceptable way.” This is one of the fastest improvements in food poverty perceptions in the TNM series, he added.

However, self-rated hunger increased from 11% to 16% in Q4 2025. But, according to the survey, nearly 80% of affected families experienced hunger only once or a few times, indicating short-term, episodic food stress rather than chronic hunger.

Most significantly, a majority of adult Filipinos — 55% — expressed trust in the national government’s ability to handle issues effectively, while 20% express distrust while 25% remain undecided or ambivalent.  

Finally, the top national concerns are increasing wages (45%) and controlling inflation (41%). – Rappler.com

(The article has been prepared for general circulation for the reading public and must not be construed as an offer, or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell any securities or financial instruments whether referred to herein or otherwise.  Moreover, the public should be aware that the writer or any investing parties mentioned in the column may have a conflict of interest that could affect the objectivity of their reported or mentioned investment activity.  You may reach the writer at [email protected])