AMID THE ONGOING investigation of alleged irregularities in several flood control projects across the country, Las Piñas Representative Mark Anthony Santos disclosed some properties owned by the Villar family reportedly benefited from a number of government infrastructure projects in the city, including that of the Zapote River Drive Project which is supposed to address flooding here.
Prior reports stated Santos has long raised the issue of the Zapote River Drive Project that is allegedly benefiting the properties of family of former senator Manuel “Manny” Villar and wife Cynthia.
“Roads were also put up in our creeks going to their establishments and subdivisions,” pinunto ng kongresista,” he pointed out.
“Land that costs ₱2,000 to ₱3,000 per square meter, if you put a road there, if you put a connecting bridge going to a big city, the price of your land will definitely increase,” he added.
ON A RIVER
In his report, Santos showed a section of the river drive where a residential village owned by the Villars is also located: “This place where we are standing is a river. (It) became narrow due to the road built alongside it, which is why it allegedly has not helped solve the flooding woes in the area. For instance, the area was flooded last July due to the southwest monsoon.”
“(One) can only use an easement of three meters for the purpose of cleaning the river in the main rivers here in urban areas. And here, the size of the easement for the river drive reached 8 to 10 meters.”
Santos further stated that he will cooperate with the Ombudsman and the Independent Commission for Infrastructure in the investigation of the said project, which he believes is only one of the many government projects that possibly benefited the Villar-owned properties.
LONG-TERM SOLUTION
Prior to the allegations against her family, former lady senator Cynthia Villar, defended that the Zapote River Drive Project (w)as a flood control and traffic decongestion project to rehabilitate the Las Piñas River and provide a long-term solution against floods in the area as well as in nearby cities like Parañaque, Muntinlupa, and Cavite.
Also mentioned by her as among the objectives of the project was to provide an alternative road to alleviate the traffic along Alabang-Zapote Road, she added.
“We showed through this project na kapakanan ng nakararami ang nauuna at hindi para sa interes ng ilan. We showed through this project that the welfare of the many comes first, and not the interest of the few. The accusation that this was done to appear favorable only to a few private properties is baseless political defamation,” she stressed.