That’s why it was not by chance that Villar enjoys the highest public satisfaction rating among three of the top officials of the land. Based on the latest of surveys by the Social Weather Stations, he came out No. 1 with a net satisfaction rating of +59 compared to Vice President Noli de Castro at +4, with Speaker Jose de Venecia who was way below at +1, and Chief Justice Reynato Puno of the Supreme Court at -2.

In the eyes of keen political observers, Villar is absolutely a no-nonsense leader as manifested in his work first as Speaker of the House of Representatives and now as Senate President. They see him as one who is imbued with the passion to get things done. And that among those top officials who are perceived as working for their own benefits, in their book Villar delivers.

Unlike those other grandstanding political leaders who do not mean what they say and who just mouth soaring but empty rhetoric and recite meaningless statistics, Villar does not talk much, but he works hard and well.

That’s why under his guard the Senate, among major state institutions, commands the highest net public satisfaction rating of +19 that cannot be dissociated from Villar’s performance.

Perhaps, one must add here, Villar’s mantra of "Sipag at Tiaga" has struck a sensitive chord in the hearts and minds of ordinary citizens as they see him in action. Perhaps, too, his advocacy of an entrepreneurial revolution has appealed to young Filipinos. And perhaps his ability to lead the Senate to accomplish much more in the passage of pieces of legislation even with the time spent in Senate inquiries into scandalous scams in government has not escape the attention of objective political observers.

Even critical observers have seen that Villar produces results like a good manager who gets things done through and with people. He stays in focus in his task as Senate leader even though he is subjected to a barrage of verbal attacks by those who feel that he could stand in their way to the presidency two years from today.

Those who envy Villar for his high public rating may say that it’s his PR machinery that is behind his high survey standing. If so, then one can very well say the same thing of Gloria Arroyo, De Castro, De Venecia and Puno.

But such ridiculous talk about PR can only come from the hobgoblins of little minds. No amount of PR or image-building can really generate a high public approval rating for any high ranking official in government. PR is Performance and Recognition. It is not propaganda.

As those same political observers and analysts say Villar produces results because he is success-driven, a doer not a talker, gets things done and has an unfailing sense of purpose.