Mark Villar resigns as DPWH secretary ahead of Eleksyon 2022

Public Works Secretary Mark Villar on Monday told officers and employees of the department that he had resigned from his post.

Villar, who has been included in the administration's senatorial ticket, made the announcement during the agency's flag raising ceremony aired on its official Facebook page.

“Today’s my last day after five years. I officially filed my resignation effective Wednesday, so I’ll be stepping down on Wednesday as your secretary,” Villar said.

Villar did not mention the reason behind his resignation, but he was among Cabinet Secretaries included in the initial list of senatorial candidates of the PDP-Laban.

Prior to his appointment as secretary, Villar who was then the representative of Las Piñas, said he would not allow the businesses of his family to benefit from his position.

Villar’s father, property tycoon Manuel Villar, was listed as the richest Filipino in the Forbes’ Billionaires 2021 List, with a net worth of $7.2 billion.

The elder Villar serves as the chairman of Vista Mall, Vista land & Landscapes, Golden Bria, and AllHome Corp, while his wife Cynthia is an incumbent senator. Mark’s sister Camille is now a member of the House of Representatives.

During his farewell speech, the younger Villar expressed his gratitude to the agency’s workforce for their efforts with the administration’s ambitious Build, Build, Build infrastructure program.

“Kayo siguro ang tingin niyo sakin rich kid… After these five years, I feel very rich because of all the friendships that I’ve made in this department, kaya mayaman na mayaman na ako dahil sa inyong lahat,” he said.

[Maybe you see me as a rich kid… After these five years, I feel very rich because of all the friendships that I’ve made in this department, and so I am very very rich because of you all.] -NB, GMA News