Mark Villar | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2025 | |
| Senator of the Philippines | |
| Assumed office June 30, 2022 | |
| Senate Deputy Majority Leader | |
| In office August 2, 2022 – June 30, 2025 Serving with JV Ejercito | |
| Leader | Joel Villanueva Francis Tolentino |
| Chair of theSenate Banks, Financial Institutions and Currencies Committee | |
| In office July 25, 2022 – June 30, 2025 | |
| Preceded by | Grace Poe |
| Chair of theSenate Trade, Commerce and Entrepreneurship Committee | |
| In office July 25, 2022 – June 30, 2025 | |
| Preceded by | Koko Pimentel |
| IATF-EID Isolation Czar | |
| In office March 16, 2020 – October 6, 2021 | |
| President | Rodrigo Duterte |
| Secretary of Public Works and Highways | |
| In office August 1, 2016 – October 6, 2021 | |
| President | Rodrigo Duterte |
| Preceded by | Rafael Yabut (acting) |
| Succeeded by | Roger Mercado (acting) |
| Member of thePhilippine House of Representatives fromLas Piñas | |
| In office June 30, 2010 – August 1, 2016 | |
| Preceded by | Cynthia Villar |
| Succeeded by | Camille Villar[a] |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Mark Aguilar Villar (1978-08-14)August 14, 1978 (age 47)[2] Las Piñas, Philippines |
| Party | Nacionalista |
| Spouse | Emmeline Yan Aglipay |
| Children | 1 |
| Parent(s) | Manny Villar Cynthia Villar |
| Relatives | Camille Villar (sister) Manuel Paolo Villar (brother) Filemon Aguilar (grandfather) Edgar Aglipay (father in law) |
| Residence(s) | Las Piñas,Metro Manila |
| Alma mater | University of Pennsylvania (BA) University of Chicago (MBA) |
| Occupation | Politician |
| Profession | Businessman |
Mark Aguilar Villar (Tagalog pronunciation:[vilˈjaɾ], born August 14, 1978) is a Filipino politician and businessman serving as aSenator since 2022. He served in PresidentRodrigo Duterte'scabinet as theSecretary of Public Works and Highways from 2016 to 2021,[3] and was theCOVID-19 pandemicisolationczar from 2020 to 2021. A member of theNacionalista Party, he was theRepresentative ofLas Piñas from 2010 to 2016.[4] Villar has also previously held executive positions in his family's businesses.
Villar hails from apolitical dynasty based inLas Piñas. His motherCynthia and his sisterCamille are respectively his former and current colleagues in the Senate, while his father,Manny, is a businessman and formerSenate President. His wife, Emmeline, is also a politician.
Villar was born on August 14, 1978, to businesspersonsManny andCynthia Villar (née Aguilar). He is the second of three children, with an older brother, Manuel Paolo, and a younger sister,Camille Lydia. He attended theInternational School Manila inMakati,Metro Manila before moving to the United States to pursue higher education.[5] He earned his bachelor's degree inEconomics, Political Science and Philosophy from theUniversity of Pennsylvania. He also finished his master's degree in Business Administration from theUniversity of Chicago Booth School of Business.[3]
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On his return to the Philippines, he worked for ten years in the family's real estate business. By 2003, Villar ran the M-Star malls after their ownership was transferred from Manuela Corp. to the Villar family.[6] He was President of Crown Asia Corporation before becoming managing director ofVista Land & Lifescapes.[5] When asked regarding his potential involvement in politics, Villar stated that he preferred corporate work to political work.[6]
Villar was first elected to public office in 2010 as congressman of thelone district of Las Piñas, succeeding his mother, Cynthia Villar, a three-term representative who later becamesenator. During his term, he served as Chairman of the House Committee on Trade and Industry, as well as Vice Chairman of the House Committees on Overseas Workers Affairs, Labor and Employment, and Science and Technology.[3]
As a member of the15th and16th Congress, he authored several bills on education, health and livelihood, including the Negosyo Act promoting microfinance and the Lemon Law protecting buyers of motor vehicles. He was also one of the proponents of the Co-Loading Act which opened domestic transport and shipping to foreign vessels.[3]
Villar ran for a third term during the2016 elections and won. However, he resigned from Congress on August 1, 2016 to becomeSecretary of Public Works and Highways, after being appointed by President Rodrigo Duterte before he took office on June 30.[7] At 38 years old, Villar was the youngest—and wealthiest—Duterte cabinet member.[8][9] Pending a special election to be held inLas Piñas to fill in Villar's seat in the lower house, House SpeakerPantaleon Alvarez designated Villar's wife, former DIWA Partylist representative Emmeline Aglipay-Villar, as interim representative.[4] Aglipay-Villar later became an undersecretary of theDepartment of Justice and was part of the team that reviewed the water concession agreements ofMaynilad Water Services andManila Water.[10] However, the special election was never held up to the end of the17th Congress.
During his time as secretary, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) completed a total of 29,264 km (18,184 mi) of roads, 5,950 bridges, 11,340 flood control projects, 222 evacuation centers, 133 Tatag ng Imprastraktura Para sa Kapayapaan at Seguridad (Tikas) projects, and 150,149 classrooms, while generating 6.5 million jobs.[11] These projects were also part of theBuild! Build! Build! program of the Duterte administration. The department faced controversy when SenatorPanfilo Lacson flagged₱469 billion worth of DPWH infrastructure projects that had already been financed by the government for implementation in 2020 but were funded again for 2021.[12] Duterte defended Villar for not being involved in the issue, saying that he is already rich.[13] Villar's wife, DOJ undersecretary Emmeline Aglipay-Villar, said she would not participate in DOJ investigations into the DPWH.[14] Villar formed a task force that led to relieving 14 personnel due to corruption.[15]
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Villar resigned as Secretary of Public Works and Highways effective October 6, 2021.[16] On the same day, he filed his certificate of candidacy (COC) to run for senator in2022.[17] His candidacy is endorsed by President Duterte.[18] He was named to the senatorial slate ofUniTeam, having been endorsed by thetandem ofBongbong Marcos andSara Duterte.[19] He won in his first senatorial bid, ranking 6th out of the 12 winning senatorial bets with more than 19 million votes. He and his motherCynthia Villar became the first mother-and-son tandem as incumbent senators sinceLoi Ejercito andJinggoy Estrada in the13th Congress (2004–2007). Villar was elected as a Senate Deputy Majority Leader (alongside JV Ejercito) and the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Banks, Financial Institutions and Currencies and the Senate Committee on Trade, Commerce and Entrepreneurship.[20]
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Villar was the youngest member of the Senate during the19th Congress.[21] As senator, he sponsored theMaharlika Investment Fund Bill, which was approved by a majority vote.[22][23]
As of 2023, the top 5 tax delinquent businesses in Las Piñas are owned by Villar's family. Las Piñas Mayor Imelda Aguilar, sister-in-law of Sen. Cynthia Villar, endorsed a waiver for the tax penalties. The endorsement was submitted to her daughter and head of the city council, Vice Mayor April Aguilar-Nery.[24]
Amid the 2025flood control corruption scandal, Justice SecretaryJesus Crispin Remulla said that the Department of Justice was investigating possible family ties between Mark Villar and a government contractor.Bilyonaryo News Channel previously reported that I&E Construction, linked to Villar's cousin Carlo Aguilar, received government contracts worth ₱18.5 billion.[25] Villar denied impropriety in the infrastructure contracts awarded to I&E during his tenure as DPWH secretary.[26]
An investigative report by Rappler said that Motiontrade Development Corporation, owned by Villar's uncle Christian Aguilar, secured ₱390 million in flood control projects in 2023 and 2024 and ₱2.8 billion in public infrastructure projects from 2023 to 2025.[27] In November 2025, the Office of the Ombudsman said that it was investigating alleged corruption in flood control projects that may have benefited the Villar family's property businesses.[28][29]
In November 2025, former DPWH undersecretary Roberto Bernardo alleged that Mark Villar,Manuel Bonoan, andCathy Cabral ran a kickback scheme at the DPWH. Cabral, under Villar or Bonoan, made additions or insertions to the proposed national budget to ensure which projects get funded. Bernardo alleged that he delivered Mark Villar's 10% kickback to Carlo Aguilar, Motionatrade co-owner and Villar's cousin.[30]
Villar is married to a fellow lawmaker, Emmeline Yan Aglipay, daughter of Cagayan GovernorEdgar Aglipay and a former undersecretary at theDepartment of Justice whom he met during the15th Congress.[31][32][33] They have a daughter, Emma Therese.[34]
On July 15, 2020, Villar tested positive forCOVID-19.[35] He was able to recover from the disease.[36]
Villar also has a longtime friendship withBullet Jalosjos, fellowNacionalista Party politicians, treasurer and spokesperson ofTelevision and Production Exponents (TAPE) Inc., the former producer of the longest-running noontime variety showEat Bulaga!, and its successor,Tahanang Pinakamasaya.[37]
| House of Representatives of the Philippines | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Representative,Lone District of Las Piñas 2010–2016 | Vacant Title next held by Camille Villar |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Secretary of Public Works and Highways 2016–2021 | Succeeded by Roger Mercado Acting |
| New title | IATF-EID Isolation Czar 2020–2021 | Vacant |
Senatorial history of Mark Villar | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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