Public Works Secretary Mark Villar. RODEL ROTONI/FILE PHOTO
Las Piñas Rep. Mark Villar has resigned from his district to take on his post as Public Works Secretary.
In a text message to reporters, Majority Floor Leader Ilocos Norte Rep. Rudy Fariñas said Speaker Pantaleon “Bebot” Alvarez has designated Villar’s wife Diwa Rep. Emmeline Aglipay-Villar as caretaker of the district.
“According to the Speaker, Rep. Mark Villar has resigned and that the Speaker will designate Rep. Em Aglipay-Villar as caretaker of the district vacated,” Fariñas said.
President Rodrigo Duterte has appointed Villar as Secretary of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) despite the family’s real estate business led by Villar’s father, former Senator and businessman Manny Villar.
READ: Senator Villar to son’s critics: We build homes, not roads
Mark Villar is a member of the Nacionalista Party, which has aligned itself with Duterte’s majority coalition for change led by the administration’s party the Partido Demokratikong Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan.
READ: Mark Villar accepts Cabinet post under Duterte
In a statement, Villar expressed his gratitude for becoming a member of the Cabinet under the Duterte administration.
He vowed to crack down on graft-ridden projects and promised to lead quality public works programs.
“I have the highest respect and admiration for the President. It is an honor to be part of his official family. Change is indeed coming,” Villar said.
“This administration would not tolerate substandard, delayed, and corruption-ridden projects,” he added.
Villar said he would implement a three-strike policy in the procurement and impose administrative sanctions on employees implementing defective public works projects.
“Our President wants to create communities that are both liveable and safe. In DPWH, we promise quality infrastructure delivered on-time, and accessible to the public,” he said.
Villar’s wife Diwa Rep. Aglipay was designated as caretaker of the district despite the law mandating a special elections in case of a vacancy in a congressional district.
According to Republic Act 6645 or “An Act Prescribing the Manner of Filling a Vacancy in the Congress of the Philippines,” a special elections may be held in case of vacancy in Congress at least a year before the next regular elections.