LAS Piñas Rep. Mark Anthony Santos yesterday exposed what he described as a “deeply alarming pattern” in national infrastructure spending, revealing that a total of 161 government infrastructure projects—worth several billions of pesos—were awarded to a cousin of Senator Mark Villar from 2016 up to the present.
Santos said the scale, frequency, and consistency of these awarding raise “serious red flags” that warrant immediate scrutiny.
According to official documents obtained by Santos’ office, I & E Construction Corp., managed by Carlo Aguilar, an uncle of Sen. Mark Villar, secured multiple projects in Las Piñas beginning in 2016. That year, the company was awarded the construction/rehabilitation of flood control along Alabang–Zapote Road, amounting to ₱6,935,775.25.
In the same year, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) also awarded ₱64,506,141.62 to I & E Construction for the construction of a slope protection structure along Naga Creek, also in Las Piñas.
Santos said I & E Construction cornered 13 DPWH contracts in 2016, the same year Sen. Mark Villar was appointed DPWH Secretary under the Duterte administration.
Former DPWH Undersecretary Roberto Bernardo told the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee that commissions from approved DPWH projects were divided among officials, alleging that 50% went to Aguilar, presumably for then-Secretary Mark Villar, while the remaining 50% was split between Usec. Maria Cabral and himself.
For his part, Ombudsman Boying Remulla said: “Nung DPWH secretary si Mark doon sila lumaki, doon sila nakakuha ng napakaraming project. That’s where they… they really raked it in nung secretary si Mark… Hindi pwedeng hindi alam ni Mark ‘yan.”
In 2017, I & E Construction secured six government infrastructure projects, including the ₱62,916,561.42 construction of slope protection and other improvements at Talon Creek (from CAA Bridge to Talon Bridge) in Las Piñas.
By 2018, Santos noted that I & E Construction “captured” 12 multi-million-peso DPWH projects at a time when Sen. Mark Villar’s mother, Cynthia, served as an incumbent senator, and his sister Camille was the lone representative of Las Piñas.
Documents showed that the largest project that year was the construction of slope protection, including a box culvert and the removal of informal settlers, amounting to ₱120,765,097.61.
Santos also noted that all 12 projects were implemented in Las Piñas, along routes leading to malls, subdivisions, and other business interests of the Villar family.
In 2019, I & E Construction obtained 14 additional government projects, including the ₱96,499,650.41 flood control structure along the Las Piñas River and its tributaries, and two major projects in Mariveles, Bataan: the ₱94-million road leading to tourism port facilities at the Freeport Area, and the ₱114.2-million network development program for the Bagac–Mariveles Road. Santos noted that the Villar family has roots in Bataan.
In 2020, Aguilar’s firm secured 10 government projects, including various local infrastructure improvements totaling ₱144.7 million, and the ₱96.5-million construction of port facilities in Mariveles, Bataan.
By 2021, I & E Construction was awarded 15 projects, including the ₱159.3-million Fiscal Year 2021 DPWH Infrastructure Program – Organizational Outcome 1, and the ₱91.7-million construction of a road from Quirino to C5 Extension in Las Piñas.
Even after Villar resigned as DPWH Secretary in October 2021 to run for senator, I & E Construction continued to secure contracts, cornering 22 projects in 2022, including the ₱144.7-million Laguna Lake Highway Extension (Phase 3), and the ₱289.301-million General Nakar–Dingalan Road, Package A in Quezon Province.
Aguilar’s firm also secured projects in Eastern Samar, including the ₱95-million installation of solar studs along Lawaan–Maramut Road and ₱95.5 million for solar studs along Wright–Taft Road, both in 2022.
In 2023 and 2024, I & E Construction again cornered 26 government projects each year—a total of 52 projects in just two years, Santos revealed.
In 2023, the DPWH–Las Piñas–Muntinlupa Engineering District Office released ₱144.7 million for the Daang Hari–Las Piñas–Muntinlupa–Cavite Expressway Bypass Road, and ₱82.5 million for the flood control structure along Pasong Baka Creek, both awarded to I & E Construction.
In 2024, I & E Construction received ₱133.2 million under the Basic Infrastructure Program for access roads and bridges to strategic public buildings with unspecified locations, and ₱138.3 million for school buildings in Barangay Molino, Bacoor, Cavite.
Three previously unidentified projects under the Convergence and Special Support Program (SIPAG) Access Roads, amounting to ₱97 million, ₱187 million, and ₱183 million, were also awarded to I & E Construction last year.
This year, Aguilar’s firm was awarded 17 government infrastructure projects, even as flood control controversies intensified following President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s order for a formal investigation.
Santos said he was shocked to learn that ₱94 million was released for the controversial C5 Diversion Road and ₱114.9 million for bypass and diversion roads in Alabang–Zapote, all bidded out to I & E Construction.
Despite several investigations by Congress and independent bodies, the DPWH released ₱218.3 million for the construction of flood control structures and other improvements in Barangay Talon 1 and Talon 3, Las Piñas, Santos added.
“Ang dami, sunod-sunod, at aabot ng bilyon. These projects didn’t just fall from the sky,” Santos said. “The public deserves full transparency on how and why a single family-linked contractor repeatedly secured massive government contracts.”
Santos urged the Office of the Ombudsman, the Commission on Audit (COA), and relevant congressional committees to conduct a joint, thorough investigation into potential conflicts of interest, preferential treatment, or violations of procurement laws.
He also called on the DPWH to release all documents related to the bidding, awards, and implementation of the 161 projects to ensure full transparency, emphasizing that the public must be informed and that no public office or position should be used to benefit relatives or insiders.
