LAS Piñas Rep. Mark Anthony Santos has urged the Department of Justice (DOJ) to immediately issue an immigration lookout bulletin order against officials and contractors allegedly involved in the multibillion-peso questionable projects of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
According to Santos, it is crucial to ensure that those implicated—such as former Las Piñas Councilor Carlo Aguilar and other relatives of former DPWH Secretary and now Senator Mark Villar—remain in the country and cannot escape accountability while investigations are ongoing.
In a special report by the Bilyonaryo News Channel (BNC) on Tuesday, it was revealed that several relatives and close associates of the Villar family—including the family of the senator’s wife—secured billions worth of government infrastructure projects from 2016 to 2021, during Villar’s tenure as DPWH chief under former President Duterte.
Santos earlier disclosed that 33 out of 339 multi-million-peso infrastructure projects in Las Piñas since 2022 were cornered by I&E Construction, whose managing officer is Aguilar.
Aguilar was also a partner in a project in Quezon Province involving what the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee identified as the “top ghost project contractor.”
On October 3, 2024, the DPWH Region 4-A awarded a ₱32.7-million contract agreement to the joint venture of Silverwolves Construction Corporation and Motiontrade Development Corporation for the “Rehabilitation, Reconstruction of Roads with slips, Slope Collapse, and Landslide Primary Road” along Daang Maharlika, Quezon Province.
The Senate Blue Ribbon Committee’s list of “Contractors with Ghost Projects” ranked Silverwolves Construction at the top with 15 ghost projects. Silverwolves is owned by Moises Tabucol, with an office address in Mudeng, La Paz, Abra.
Meanwhile, Motiontrade Development Corporation, managed by Carlo Aguilar, is located at Alabang-Zapote Road, Admiral Village, Talon 3, Las Piñas City.
“No one should be able to get away. The people’s demand is justice and accountability, not evasion of the law,” the lawmaker stressed.
Based on documents obtained by investigators, more than ₱18 billion worth of contracts were allegedly secured by a company linked to former DPWH Secretary and now Senator Villar.
The bulk of these projects were awarded not only in their bailiwick of Las Piñas but also across large parts of the Calabarzon region.
Santos pointed out that the scale of the funds involved cannot be ignored, as this is taxpayers’ money that should have been used for quality infrastructure.
“If it is true that connections to the former secretary gave this company an advantage, then this is clearly a conflict of interest. Those responsible must be held to account, and public trust in the use of government funds must be restored,” he added.
The lawmaker also urged various government agencies to work together to expedite the review of questionable contracts.
He warned that continuing to turn a blind eye to such practices only leads to substandard projects and worsening corruption.
“This fight is the fight of every Filipino. It is time to put an end to the culture of amassing wealth through public funds,” Santos concluded.
