#62 Mark Villar

Mark Villar (born August 14, 1978 in Manila) is a politician. He is a former secretary of public works under the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte.

He is the son of Senator Cynthia Villar (serving since 2013) and former Senate president Manuel “Manny” Villar, among the richest persons in the Philippines.

Mark was elected representative of Las Piñas City in 2010, succeeding her mother, who had served the maximum three consecutive terms. Having barely started his third term as congressman, he resigned in August 2016 to become the secretary of the Department of Public Works and Highways under President Rodrigo Duterte. His wife, DIWA party list representative Emmeline Aglipay-Villar, was named caretaker of the Las Piñas district until she was appointed undersecretary at the Department of Justice in 2018. | Rappler

Issues and Stands

Safe re-opening of schools and transition to face-to-face classes

Ensure that quality internet is available to students and work to provide subsidies to ensure they can keep up in their classes (i.e., load or laptop subsidies)

Integrate Human Rights and Peace Education into basic and secondary education curriculum

Junking of Anti-Terror Law

Demand that campaigns declare online campaign expenditures beyond their official social media accounts (i.e., influencers engaged, unofficial groups or pages tapped, etc.)

Increased participation of the youth in local and national governance by allowing them to influence & craft legislation

Protection of Indigenous Peoples’ rights and support their increased participation in cultural spaces

Legalization of Divorce

Increase national minimum wage to P750

Increase budget for farming and fishing support/infrastructure

Enact the right to an adequate food bill or the Zero Hunger Bill

Continue support for the rice tariffication law

Seeking climate change accountability from better developed, high-pollutant countries

Increase financial and technical support for local climate adaptation and mitigation projects

Support for Open Pit Mining

Pass an Alternative Mining Act in accordance with human rights norms, standards, and obligations

Increase funding for mental health support

Decriminalizing Abortion

Reparations for Martial Law Victims & Retrieval of Marcos’ Ill-gotten Wealth

Criminalizing of Vote-buying