Sec. Villar still enjoys Duterte’s trust, Palace says amid DPWH corruption allegations

Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Mark Villar continues to enjoy the trust and confidence of President Rodrigo Duterte even after the chief executive raised the problem of corruption in the agency, Malacañang said Thursday.

“Full trust and confidence po [ang Presidente] kay Secretary Villar dahil despite the corruption in DPWH, naka-deliver po si Secretary Villar,” presidential spokesperson Harry Roque told a news conference.

He also cited the background of the DPWH chief, a son of property tycoon and former senator Manny Villar, whose wealth is estimated to be worth $5 billion this year.

“It helps na mas marami pang pera ang pamilya ni Secretary Villar kaysa sa DPWH,” the Palace official said.

Roque said the President only emphasized the challenges in the remaining two years of his term when he spoke on Wednesday about the alleged corrupt practices linked to the implementation of projects such as right-of-way acquisition.

“Ang pangako naman po ng Presidente, igugugol niya talaga itong natitirang panahon para labanan ang korapsyon sa lahat ng departamento,” he added.

Roque said the President can order an investigation on the corruption allegations in the DPWH but the priority for now is to look into the irregularities in the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth).

Duterte earlier created an inter-agency task force to probe and file charges against personalities involved in corruption in the state health insurer.

In a separate media briefing, Villar renewed his commitment to stamp out corruption in the agency.

“May nagawa na kaming mga reforms katulad ng ‘yung monitoring systems. Ngayon po lahat po ng ating mga proyekto ay may geotagging so malalaman natin kung anong kondisyon ng mga projects,” he said.

Almost 30 contractors have also been blacklisted by the DPWH, he added.

“We will continue to fight harder to stop corruption,” Villar said. — BM, GMA News