Villar son quits House for Cabinet

MANILA, Philippines – Congressman Mark Villar has resigned as representative of Las Piñas City to join the Cabinet of President Duterte as head of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

House Majority Leader and Ilocos Norte Rep. Rodolfo Fariñas confirmed this on Monday, saying Las Piñas City would temporarily be under the congressional care of Villar’s wife, Rep. Emmeline Aglipay-Villar of Diwa party-list.

Shortly after winning the May 9 presidential race, Duterte announced that Villar would be joining his Cabinet as DPWH secretary.

Villar’s appointment has been criticized as his father, former Senate president Manny Villar, is engaged in real estate business.

Duterte assured the public that no conflict of interest would arise from Villar’s post.

The Villars are stalwarts of the Nacionalista Party, which has aligned itself with Duterte’s super majority coalition in the House and led by the President’s political party, the Partido Demokratikong Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban).

Ban from bidding            

Contractors with a negative 15 or more slippage will no longer be entitled to join future biddings for government projects, Villar said yesterday.

The new DPWH chief said all contractors whose ongoing projects are lagging behind schedule and incurring a negative 15 slippage or more will be disqualified from future biddings.

These contractors will only be allowed to bid after they correct or improve their performance and compliance.

“We will implement a three-strike policy in the procurement of contracts and impose administrative sanctions on employees involved in the defective implementation of DPWH projects,” Villar said.

“Our President wants to create communities that are livable and safe. In DPWH, we promise quality infrastructure delivered on time and accessible to the public,” he added.

He assured the public that the administration would not tolerate substandard, delayed and corruption-ridden projects. – With Evelyn Macairan