In the name of family

MANILA, Philippines – Las Piñas City Rep. Mark Villar and his wife DIWA party-list Rep. Emmeline Aglipay-Villar, both successful in their current posts, share a union melded by love for life and family. It is the deeply-ingrained values they learned from their family that they carry with them. And most importantly, they experience love in its purest form through their precious two-month-old daughter Emma Therese.

Mark, son of real estate mogul and former senator Manny Villar and Sen. Cynthia Villar, credits his parents’ guidance and inspiration for him to be where he is right now as a public servant and a family man. “They push me to be the best that I can be. My father is a great leader by example. I can see how he lives his life and that’s what I want to emulate. My mom is very hardworking and she teaches us the value of hard work,” says Mark, who at a very young age was already exposed to public service.

“Every family has something that they are good at. Public service is something we have been doing for a long time and we are good at it. For me, it’s very fulfilling to continue what they started,” says Mark, who started doing public service in 2010.

Now on his second term as a Las Piñas City representative, Mark, who finished Bachelor of Science in Political Science, Philosophy and Economics at the University of Pennsylvania, pushes strongly for the bills he wants to pursue like Go Negosyo bill that seeks to strengthen micro, small and medium enterprises to create more job opportunities in the country; and the Lemon law, which is for consumer protection for buyers of brand-new vehicles.

Mark also strongly promotes sports and anti-drug campaigns in his district. The Ever Bilena-owned Blackwater Elite team participates in his campaigns. “I’m very happy that Blackwater has joined us for exhibition games to help kids focus more on sports than drugs,” says Mark, who lauds Blackwater, led by its big boss Dioceldo Sy, for being very active in giving public service to the community.

To battle stress, Mark, a self-confessed Blackwater Elite fan, plays basketball at least twice a week. He also takes on the treadmill at home whenever time permits. He is also an art enthusiast and enjoys listening to records, which he finds calming.

A doting father to Emma, Mark describes having her as “the best feeling in the world. It’s indescribable. You’ll never know until you experience it.”

On his wife, Em, (they got married in 2014), he says, “She is an amazing woman, such a nice person. She works so hard. She’s overcome a lot and that’s why we are very thankful for our daughter, she is a great blessing to us. My wife and my daughter Emma are my definition of happiness right now. The best times I have are when I am with them. They are my No. 1 source of happiness.”

With a positive disposition, Mark enjoys the journey he has as a new father and a loving husband; he also enjoys public service. “For me, I just want to enjoy the journey. I just want to see how far I can go. I just want to keep pushing myself and see how far I can go. From my experience, I think that’s the best way. Push yourself if you want to move forward. Sometimes, we don’t know where it’s going to lead. I believe a lot of it is destiny. Good things happen to people who work hard. That’s what I’m trying to do. I try to work hard and be the best person that I can be,” Mark concludes.

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Em, one of the Ten Outstanding Young Men of the Philippines awardees for public service, knew at an early age that she was meant for public service. During her grade school and high school days at St. Scholastica’s College, she was exposed to community development through the school’s outreach programs and immersions in its adopted communities.

“St. Scho is really serious in teaching social responsibility. It was ingrained in me,” says Em, who was then an outreach coordinator who spent her summers in adopted communities in remote areas. Em says her father, former PNP chief Edgar Aglipay, and mother Marinette, were scared for her as the immersions were set in mountain areas in certain parts of the country. “There were no running water, no plumbing, no electricity. The houses were made of light materials that when a storm came, the roof was blown off! That experience changed me. It humbled me and made me grateful,” shares Em.

It was at the De La Salle University where the leanings of her opinions in terms of social, political and civil rights issues were formed through the progressive political party Tapat. She graduated magna cum laude with a degree in Economics, minor in Political Science. She took up Law at the University of the Philippines Diliman where she was awarded the Order of the Purple Feather as part of the Top 20 of her graduating batch.

After passing the Bar, Em joined SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan Law Offices and became a court attorney for the office of Chief Justice Reynato Puno. She later became the Democratic Independent Workers’ Association (DIWA) representative in congress.

Now on her second term, Em continues to promote the economic welfare of the Filipino workers particularly independent workers. She authored the Kasambahay Law, the Magna Carta for Informal Sector Workers, the Magna Carta of Fillipino Seafarers and the Act to Strengthen Security of Tenure.

On being a new mom to Emma, she lovingly shares, “I’m loving it. Being a mom is amazing and it’s the best thing that has ever happened to me. You think you know what love is but when you have a child, you’ll realize that, this right here is love. I’m so thankful to God that He gave me this chance to be a mom. I’m really thankful,” says Em, who is also one of this year’s PeopleAsia Women of Style and Substance awardees. Em went through a difficult pregnancy with Emma. She and her husband Mark prayed to St. Therese of Child Jesus.

The brand-new mom keeps herself fit by engaging in non-competitive sports. She runs, does circuit training, cycle and does pilates. She also attends Plana Forma classes, a combination of pilates and dance to exercise the body’s stubborn areas. Em keeps herself fit but she has one policy: “Don’t diet. Just enjoy life.”

Appreciating beauty in everything is how she sees life. “Beauty is the spirit inside you. It’s the feeling you have when you see something beautiful. Beauty is also about balance — in art, in nature, in scenery.”

She ends, “Happiness is spending time with family, cuddling and hugging my baby. Spending my time with Mark, too. They mean everything to me. Family is really what makes me happy now.”

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Photography by CLAUDINE CERVANTES CALLANTA of Larawanmo • Styling by NASIA CAMMAYO • Makeup by ELMA ORAYE • Hairstyling and grooming by Kheylyn Gueco and Lauren Pablo • On Emmeline: Red Hannah one-shoulder gown and teal Lyra off-shoulder gown both by THE FLORENCE FLING (second level, Megamall Bldg. A. www.florencefling.com)