SENATOR Mark Villar’s leadership in the Senate investigation into alleged irregularities in the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) is facing scrutiny, with critics questioning whether the inquiry can remain impartial given his family’s reported links to projects under investigation.
Las Piñas Rep. Mark Anthony Santos said the senator’s position in the probe presents a conflict of interest. “If members of Senator Villar’s own family may be involved in these dubious contracts, how can the process be impartial? He cannot lead an investigation where there is a clear conflict of interest,” Santos said.
On August 19, Villar opened a Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing on so-called ghost flood control projects. In his remarks, he called for a “comprehensive and integrated flood control master plan,” criticized “fragmented and substandard projects,”.
The senator warned that “public funds must not be wasted on projects that are poorly executed or disconnected from a larger plan.” He also urged senators to “hold erring contractors and personalities accountable.”
However, Sanstos learned that no comprehensive DPWH flood control master plan was turned over to the Marcos administration after Villar left office in 2021. Despite serving five years as DPWH secretary, he left behind no unified plan.
Villar had previously acknowledged the technical challenges of flood control. “You can fix one section and the flow of water will improve, but when it reaches another section without flood control, the water will accumulate,” he once said.
Observers note that these undercuts claims of ignorance about systemic gaps that allowed questionable projects to proceed during his tenure.
The Bilyonaryo News Channel has reported that more than ₱18 billion worth of contracts were allegedly cornered by a company linked to the Villar family. Civic watchdog groups said many of the projects were awarded in Las Piñas, the Villar family’s political stronghold, and across parts of Calabarzon.
The controversy widened with the inclusion of Carlo Aguilar, a former Las Piñas councilor and Villar relative, who has been linked to DPWH contracts in Southern Metro Manila. These contracts are now under review for alleged overpricing and substandard implementation.
“If a relative of the Villar family is among those implicated, the credibility of the entire process is in even greater jeopardy,” Santos pointed out. “How can the public believe in accountability if the family of the investigator is itself under suspicion?”
Aguilar was also reported to be a business partner in a Quezon Province project with a contractor identified by the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee as the country’s “top ghost project contractor.”
Records show that on October 3, 2024, DPWH Region 4-A awarded a ₱32.7-million contract to the joint venture of Silverwolves Construction Corporation and Motiontrade Development Corporation for the “Rehabilitation and Reconstruction of Roads” along the Daang Maharlika in Quezon Province. Silverwolves Construction topped the Senate’s list of “Contractors with Ghost Projects,” with at least 15 flagged projects.
Santos further noted that even the ongoing investigation of the Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA) into the poor service of private concessionaire PrimeWater will cover “possible conflict of interest” involving the DPWH during Villar’s tenure.
LWUA, which has been attached to the DPWH since 2011, oversees water districts nationwide. Nearly 100 joint venture agreements (JVAs) were signed between local water districts and PrimeWater, particularly during the Duterte administration when Villar was DPWH secretary from 2016 to 2021.
PrimeWater is owned by Villar’s brother Manuel Paolo Villar and is part of the family’s business empire led by their parents, former senators Manny and Cynthia Villar. Malacañang ordered the PrimeWater probe following mounting consumer complaints over years of poor service.
