Jauhn Etienne Villaruel

Committee on Banks, Financial Institutions and Currencies chairperson Sen. Mark Villar introduces amendments to Senate Bill No. 2020, or the proposed "Maharlika Investment Fund Act", during the plenary session on May 30, 2023. Joseph Vidal, Senate PRIB

Article (news)

Victoria Tulad

Adrian Ayalin

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/175938102865320230531-villar-mark-senate-PRIB-1.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Committee on Banks, Financial Institutions and Currencies chairperson Sen. Mark Villar introduces amendments to Senate Bill No. 2020, or the proposed &quot;Maharlika Investment Fund Act&quot;, during the plenary session on May 30, 2023. Joseph Vidal, Senate PRIB</span></span></span></div><p>MANILA — Sen. Mark Villar on Thursday said he or his family had &quot;no direct or indirect ownership or controlling interest in any company participating in DPWH projects.&quot;</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/10/1/doj-looking-into-villars-and-p18b-in-infra-contracts-awarded-to-relative-1737">DOJ looking into Villars and P18B in infra contracts awarded to relative</a></div><p>Villar issued the statement after Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said a preliminary probe is being done into Villar in connection with a total of P18 billion in infrastructure contracts the government awarded his cousin.</p><p>&quot;Let me be unequivocal: I have no direct or indirect ownership or controlling interest in any company participating in DPWH projects. The official record will confirm that none of my relatives acquired any contracts from 2016 to 2021, during my tenure as Secretary,&quot; the senator said.</p><p>Remulla said the Department of Justice was looking into Villar not just as a lawmaker but also as a former secretary of the Department of Public Works and Highways, which oversees infrastructure.</p><p>Prior to his election as senator in 2022, Villar was the DPWH Secretary from 2016 to 2021 under the Duterte administration.</p><p>According to Villar, his DPWH stint was above-board.</p><p>&quot;My focus then was singular: to implement deep-seated reforms and rebuild public trust... I have full faith that my service record in those years bears witness to this focus and commitment,&quot; he said.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/10/1/ici-eyes-sen-mark-villar-as-resource-person-in-flood-control-probe-1542">ICI eyes Sen. Mark Villar as resource person in flood control probe</a></div><p>On Wednesday, the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) confirmed that Villar could be invited in its investigation into the anomalous flood control projects in the country.</p><p>Villar said he welcomed such probe.</p><p>&quot;I fully support the investigation of the Independent Commission for Infrastructure. Furthermore, to institutionalize these practices, we will be filing a bill to mandate universal drone monitoring for all major government projects,&quot; the senator said.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>DOJ PROBE </strong></div><div><br/></div><p>Remulla said Thursday that Villar’s camp has reached out to the DOJ. </p><p>“There was an effort to set a meeting pero wala, wala pa akong response, kasi nga I’d rather it be done officially, transparently, officially, across the board para walang masabi na he said, she said,” Remulla said.</p><p>Remulla also welcomed Villar’s remark that he was ready to participate in any ongoing investigation.   </p><p>“Mabuti naman kasi ikaklara natin lahat iyan. We have to get all the records, alam mo naman ang dami-dami nating trabaho dito we have to deal with each one of them carefully kaya each different case, each one is a different count, kagaya ng flood control, ghost projects, doon pa lang 60 to 70 cases of ghost projects,” he said. </p><p>Aside from Villar, other lawmakers, DPWH officials and private contractors were the subject of a <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/10/2/remulla-congtractors-engineers-among-almost-200-people-involved-flood-control-mess-0029">case build-up involving 100 to 200 individuals.</a></p><p>Remulla earlier said “cong-tractors” or congressmen who are or were contractors are part of the investigation. </p><p>“We have 67, so called cong-tractors, syempre lahat iyan pinag-aaralan na, well we are looking at DPWH engineers, unless they are dismissed from the service but we will still file cases against them, if they were in cahoots,” Remulla said. </p><p>As part of the case build-up on the flood control projects controversy, Commission on Audit Chairperson Gamaliel Cordoba went to the DOJ Thursday.</p><p>Former DPWH officials Henry Alcantara, Brice Hernandez and Jaypee Mendoza also went back to the DOJ.</p><p>“Ang alam ko, merong telephones na naiwan sa bahay na pwedeng mag-shed light sa mga tinatanong sa kanila, so we would ask that, of the Senate President,” Remulla said.</p><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO: </strong></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/s7I00cIKDAg?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div>

<p>Sen. Mark Villar on Thursday said he or his family had "no direct or indirect ownership or controlling interest in any company participating in DPWH projects."</p>

Sen. Mark Villar on Thursday said he or his family had "no direct or indirect ownership or controlling interest in any company participating in DPWH projects."

Mark Villar says no ties to government contractor, defends DPWH stint

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Mark Villar says no ties to government contractor, defends DPWH stint

Jauhn Etienne Villaruel,

Victoria Tulad,

Adrian Ayalin,

ABS-CBN News

Published October 02, 2025 01:01 PM PHT

|

Updated October 02, 2025 04:18 PM PHT

Read More:

Mark Villar

DOJ

DPWH

politics

corruption

contractor

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