Mark Villar

Mark Aguilar Villar (Tagalog pronunciation: [vilˈjaɾ], born August 14, 1978) is a Filipino politician and businessman serving as a Senator since 2022.

He served in President Rodrigo Duterte's cabinet as the Secretary of Public Works and Highways from 2016 to 2021,[3] and was the COVID-19 pandemic isolation czar from 2020 to 2021.

[3] As a member of the 15th and 16th Congress, he authored several bills on education, health and livelihood, including the Negosyo Act promoting microfinance and the Lemon Law protecting buyers of motor vehicles.

However, he resigned from the Congress on August 1, 2016 to become Secretary of Public Works and Highways, after being appointed by President Rodrigo Duterte before he took office on June 30.

During his time as secretary, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) completed a total of 29,264 km (18,184 mi) of roads, 5,950 bridges, 11,340 flood control projects, 222 evacuation centers, 133 Tatag ng Imprastraktura Para sa Kapayapaan at Seguridad (Tikas) projects, and 150,149 classrooms, while generating 6.5 million jobs.

The department faced controversy when Senator Panfilo Lacson flagged ₱469 billion worth of DPWH infrastructure projects that had already been financed by the government for implementation in 2020 but were funded again for 2021.

[14] He was named to the senatorial slate of UniTeam Alliance, having been endorsed by the tandem of Bongbong Marcos and Sara Duterte.

He and his mother Cynthia Villar became the first mother-and-son tandem as incumbent senators since Loi Ejercito and Jinggoy Estrada in the 13th Congress (2004–2007).

Villar as secretary of the Department of Public Works and Highways
Villar speaking during a Uniteam Alliance campaign rally in San Fernando, Pampanga in 2022