Right on the Mark

Time truly is the best teacher. Back in 2016, there were quite a few skeptics regarding Mark Villar’s appointment as the Secretary of Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), which is essentially the country’s largest engineering and construction firm. He was then only 38 years old, and while he had been a three-term legislator at the time of his appointment, he had no actual experience in overseeing an entire government department.

As the son of former senator Manny Villar and Senator Cynthia Villar, who are both well-established giants in the real estate industry, Sec. Mark taking the helm of the DPWH was inadvertently colored with a lot of issues and initial criticism. I remember thinking to myself at that time, that this was a make-or-break opportunity for the dynamic young scion.

Five years later, the benefit of hindsight has shown that DPWH Secretary Villar is right on the mark. Throughout his tenure, I can honestly say that Sec. Mark simply rolled up his sleeves and got to work – no lavish trimmings necessary – and is fundamentally a stand-up guy who gets the job done.

His father was recently named the Richest Filipino by Forbes, but you would never know it from the way the DPWH secretary behaves. He is an affable and humble individual who respects the people he interacts with, and promotes a culture of openness and collaboration. I know for a fact that he sometimes uses the corporate helicopter of his family’s business to get to construction projects in far flung places, and that he doesn’t charge the government (or the taxpayers) a single centavo for those trips.

This sort of humility and dedication is key when it comes to his daily routine as DPWH Secretary, as research shows that there can be up to 20,000 different projects running simultaneously at any given time. With public infrastructure as the cornerstone of the government’s “Build, Build, Build” initiative, the dedicated public servants that oversee these undertakings merit some recognition.

Sec. Mark took on long-embedded challenges at the DPWH, including the right-of-way (ROW) acquisition backlog. When he assumed office, the ROW acquisition was at a mere 9 percent completion. Under his direction, the DPWH was able to deliver complete ROW requirements for the major infrastructure projects such as NAIA Expressway Phase II, Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway (TPLEX) and the NLEX Harbor Link Segment 10 including C3-R10 Section. He practically led the completion of the Skyway Stage 3 by working closely with San Miguel Corporation and other government agencies such as the Department of Transportation, the Philippine National Railways and the Toll Regulatory Board. These projects, among others, have essentially changed the traffic landscape in Metro Manila, and restored precious quality time that we can give to our families, rather than being stuck in traffic whenever we need to travel. (To be continued)