Does the law allow a senator, congressman, or mayor to construct a bridge that connects to their personal businesses?

This question was raised on Wednesday by Las Piñas City Councilor Mark Anthony Santos after Senator Cynthia Villar admitted that her family owned two controversial bridges that lead to a prime private subdivision in Cavite, which the family also owns.

The two bridges, the Cavite Bridge and the Dear Joe Bridge, were constructed during the tenure of Mark Villar, the senator’s son, at the helm of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH). Mark Villar is now also a senator.

“These are private bridges paid for and constructed by our family going to our private land. The two bridges were not built by DPWH and these go to our Villar Farm School and Tourist Farm. The use of these bridges is by tolerance; we simply make them available to the public, but they remain private property,” Villar’s camp said in a statement.

On the issue of the trees that were cut during the construction, “we already replaced the trees. We planted 900 Nedra trees in the area and donated P30,000 worth of local trees to DENR (Department of Environment and Natural Resources),” Villar’s camp said.

Santos, however, asked, “Is that legal? A public road’s entrance is through a mall owned by the Villars?”

“Las Piñas City is not Villar City where they think they can violate local laws anytime just because they are considered the richest family in the country,” he added.

Santos, who is running for the city’s lone congressional seat against Cynthia Villar, said bridges on national roads are managed by the DPWH, while bridges on local roads fall under the responsibility of the local government units, following the administrative classification of roads and bridges.

Earlier, Euan Rex Toralballa, whose presidency of the BF Resort Homeowners Association is being questioned by Villar, said that to this day it was unclear if the construction of the two bridges, which lead to Vista Land’s Camella Homes and other Villar properties in Cavite, was a government project or a private initiative.

“I am the one who built the bridge. That was through my kindness; we did not charge anyone. I am the owner, and I do not ask for payment,” Cynthia Villar said in Filipino.

The woman senator said Toralballa was no longer president of the BFHOA as the association’s term of existence expired on 11 February 2024, as provided under Section 60 DSHUD Department Order 2021-007.

P35-million check

On the other hand, Santos questioned whether Villar’s financial contribution gave her the right to claim ownership of the bridge’s access routes.

“Madam senator, did you donate P35 million to make it easier to track down your failing businesses in Las Piñas and Cavite?” he asked.

Three years ago, Toralballa said, Villar displayed a check for P35 million to residents of BF Resort Village, claiming the amount was her payment to the contractor of the Cavite bridge.

“But who owned the construction company? Was it a private company or a Villar family-owned firm?Was it just to show the public that they ‘donated’ P35 million for their own benefit,” he asked.

Toralballa claimed that Villar did not secure any permits or clearances from the cities of Las Piñas and Bacoor, Cavite when the Cavite Bridge was constructed in 2019.

“How were the Villars able to proceed with the construction of the Cavite bridge without these permits? Was it because Mark Villar was the secretary of the DPWH at the time?” asked Toralballa, adding that the Villars disregarded local and national laws, “because the Villars were feeling powerful during the Duterte administration.”

Like the construction of the Cavite Bridge, the Dear Joe Bridge did not undergo proper consultation with the residents, according to Toralballa.

He said the Dear Joe Café and the Villar Children’s Farm are on a pay-per-entry basis through the bridges which proves the bridges were constructed only for the commercial gain of the Villar Group of Companies.

Toralballa also pointed out that the areas around the bridges were prone to flooding during the rainy season as the Zapote River overflows in the area.

He said the senator seemed to lack an understanding of bridge design, particularly the distinction between a bridge’s superstructure and substructure, as well as the principles of tension and compression.