10 things to mark about Mark Villar
“Mark is quite a shy person. Instead of talking about his plans, he would much rather put his ideas into action and concretize them. He is a very patient and hardworking man.”
This is how the wife of Mark Villar, Justice Undersecretary Emmeline “EM” Aglipay Villar, who is also a lawyer, fondly describes him to us.
Mark served two terms in Congress as representative of the lone district of Las Piñas. Although he ran and won during his last term, he was appointed in May 2016 by President Rodrigo Duterte to be in his Cabinet as secretary of the Department of Public Works and Highways.
Before joining government service, Mark was the general manager of the family-owned Crown Asia Corp. for eight years. He obtained his bachelor’s degree in political science, philosophy and economics at the University of Pennsylvania. He then earned a master’s degree in business administration at the University of Chicago School of Business.
Throughout his years at the DPWH, Mark was able to institute numerous changes that have led to the completion, rehabilitation and improvement of quality infrastructure all over the Philippines. Those changes continuously benefit the Filipino people ‘til this day.
He also played a notable role in realizing the “Golden Age of Infrastructure” through the “Build Build Build” Program. He sought the completion of projects under the Luzon Spine Expressway Network Program, TIKAS Program, Tourism Road Infrastructure Program (TRIP), Roads Leveraging Linkages for Industry and Trade (ROLL-IT) Program, Kalsada Tungo sa Paliparan, Riles, at Daungan (KATUPARAN) Program, Agri-Infrastructure Support Program and other priority projects. At the onset of the pandemic, he helped build 730 operational facilities with 27,302 bed capacities.?
But when asked to name his greatest achievement, Mark’s immediate reply was “Without a doubt, it is marrying my strong, beautiful and passionate wife Emmeline, and being the father to our beautiful and energetic six-year-old daughter, Emma Therese.” Mark and Em have been married for seven years.
“Mark is very loving and thoughtful,” says Em. “He always makes sure I am comfortable and even before I notice that I need something, he notices that I need it and he provides me with it. I never need to ask. He notices the little things that I need to make my life more comfortable, to aid me in my struggles or to make life less stressful for me.”
We asked Em to share with us 10 things we didn’t know about Mark.
1. Mark is always on time. He makes an effort to be on time or even early for his appointments, meetings and even for our dates.
2. Mark plays the saxophone. He played the alto saxophone in the school band when he was in high school. Since then, he has played the saxophone for leisure. His favorites to play are I Can’t Help Falling In Love With You, Fools Rush In and I’ve Loved You for a Thousand Years because those songs are for me and Emma.
3. He once worked as a waiter and dishwasher in the cafeteria of the University of Pennsylvania. He had to work for extra money while he was studying there.
4. His specialty dish is smoked barbecue beef brisket that takes about 12 hours to make. He had to learn and perfect this dish during the quarantine. He read several books and watched numerous videos on smoking the perfect beef barbecue. Then, every weekend since the start of the quarantine in 2020, he made a batch until he got the perfect mix of salt and paper and other spices for the bark, the perfect softness to the meat, and the flavor he wanted. He is thinking of selling his beef brisket under the brand Maverick.
5. He loves dogs. His first dog was an Akita and until now he still has an Akita. He also has an English Bulldog and English Mastiff.
6. His favorite food is Yoshinoya Beef Bowl. Ever since he was young, that has been his favorite. One of his favorite things to do with his brother Paolo is to order beef bowl and watch basketball games.
7. He also enjoys playing basketball and once wanted to be a professional basketball player. His favorite basketball players are Kobe Bryant and Allan Caidic. He has been a Lakers fan all his life; that is why Kobe became his favorite. Kobe and Mark are the same age, so Mark has been following Kobe’s career as they both have grown older. Caidic is his favorite because of his shooting skills.
8. It took Mark about one year of asking (he was a colleague in the 15th Congress) before I agreed to go on a date with him. He often says that he was able to make me agree to be his wife through “sipag at tiyaga.”
9. He has been an art enthusiast since he was in his 20s and continues to support young Filipino artists until this day.
10. He also likes Pinoy rock bands like Parokya ni Edgar, Eraserheads and The Dawn. His favorites songs are Harana and Halaga by Parokya ni Edgar; Pare Ko and Huling El Bimbo by Eraserheads; and Salamat by The Dawn.
(We welcome your suggestions and comments. Please e-mail me at [email protected]. Follow me on Instagram @monsromulo.)
- Latest
