Deputy Speaker and Las Piñas City lone district Rep. Camille Villar (Rep. Villar's office)


'You can achieve anything you set your mind to." Deputy Speaker and Las Piñas City lone district Rep. Camille Villar used these words, and more, to galvanize the new graduates of Northern Iloilo State University. Villar served as keynote speaker at the 2nd Commencement Exercises of the university's main campus in Estancia, Iloilo on Wednesday, June 21. “Do not be afraid of mistakes for victory is always sweeter when achieved under difficult circumstances. Do not give up simply because you fell down for redemption is always more satisfying after a blunder. These are the values that I hope you carry with you as you face the world that goes on out there,” the lady solon told the graduates. “Hindi bawal mangarap (You're not prohibited from dreaming)… Believe in your ability to make things happen. You can achieve anything you set your mind to and never let anyone stop you. Do not listen to detractors and people who will discourage you,” Villar said. “Don’t think that anything is impossible. Let me tell you, everything is possible,” she added. Villar, who comes from a family of successful business people, went on to explain to the graduates what the "real world' means. “When people talk about the real world after graduation, they simply want to tell you that as you leave your campus and stop being a student, there is a new world of challenges, difficulties and some failures but there is a new world of opportunities, successes and fulfilment that lies ahead. And your world will become bigger,” said Villar, a former Jaro Queen who also traces her roots to Iloilo. Villar also shared that failure is inevitable among businesses and most of them experience struggles especially during the first few years. According to a study conducted by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), about 20 percent of small businesses fail at the end of their first year. By their end of the fifth year, 50 percent go under, and by the 10th year, that number rises to 80 percent. “A mistake is actually an opportunity to learn. Challenges are not bad, they are possibilities for success,” the ranking House member continued. She also shared an important maxim about never doubting oneself. She learned this around the time that she was starting out in their family-run business. When Villar first entered the boardroom for a meeting, she felt doubts from everyone who probably thought that she was a young, inexperienced woman who didn't possess what was needed to run a business. “I doubted if I was right, compared with others. But then I realized that I had no reason to—because I went to school and I was prepared. My opinion and my thoughts were equally as important as those around me in the room. “My gender, my age—these were not reasons to doubt myself. There were no reasons to think that I did not belong in that room. In fact, being right or wrong has got nothing to do with age or gender. It’s got to do with your experiences in life,” she said.