11/26/2025
Plain Rice column By TONY ANTONIO
Villars are in crosshairs
of Ombudsman Remulla
"To uphold the rule of law. To give justice to every man, woman and child no matter the circumstance of birth, no matter the economic standing."
This was the pledge made by Jesus "Boying" Catibayan Remulla shortly after he was appointed by President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. as secretary of the Department of Justice (DOJ) on June 30, 2022.
He served as justice secretary for only two years, but it seems fair to say that he had largely done a good job.
In the last week of September, this year, the President, apparently satisfied by his record at DOJ, appointed Remulla as the new Ombudsman.
This time, Remulla did not make any pledge but his statements following his appointment indicate he realizes how crucial his new position is in the campaign to put behind bars corrupt people. He is now the spearhead of the crusade, and religious folks may even imagine him as St. Michael slaying with a sword all kinds of evil.
But Remulla is aware that the crusade will be extremely difficult, considering the high stations in life of many people he is going after.
Will he let the ax fall where it should -- no matter who these people are? They are not only low-level government engineers and small-time contractors, but they are also influential and super rich.
Among them is former House Speaker Manuel B. Villar, Jr. who is ranked by U.S. Forbes Magazine as the wealthiest Filipino in an issue published recently.
Called the brown taipan, Villar Jr. disclosed recenlty that one of his real estate companies earned ₱1 trillion. This put him back as the Philippines’ richest man, after he was replaced briefly at the top by port and gaming magnate Enrique K. Razon Jr.
With such enormous wealth, Villar has all the resources he needs to defend himself in court. He could hire an army of top-notch lawyers, private investigators and public relations men.
From the optics of it, though, Ombudsman Remulla appears undaunted by the difficulty of the challenge ahead. In fact, in a recent interview with vlogger Christian Esguerra, he looked animated as he recalled a statement of his deputy whom he assigned to initially look into public works projects implemented in Las Pinas City and Cavite by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH). Some of the projects were undertaken when Senator Mark Villar, son of Manuel Villar, was DPWH secretary.
Remulla recalled his deputy telling him "kinilabutan siya" (horrified) when he saw the massive extent of "conflict of interests" in the implementation of the public works projects funded with taxpayers' money. These projects, he said, benefited the land development projects of the Villars' real estate companies.
The Villars own vast tracts of land in Cavite. In Bacoor City alone, "Villar City" located on Daang Hari Road has an estimated area of at least 100 hectares. A well paved road traverses the area. In the vicinity are establishments owned by the family. These include a four-star hotel and malls. Some four kilometers away is Evia, also owned by the Villars. It is a commercial complex complete with foreign-named restaurants, shopping center and theaters.
Las Pinas City Rep. Mark Anthony Santos said one road in the area was constructed with P500-million government fund and runs parallel with C-5 Road. Originally, Santos said, the Villars planned to build a casino complex in the place.
Santos, who defeated former Senator Cynthia Villar, Manuel's wife, in the last congressional race in Las Pinas, said there are other questionable public works undertaken in Las Pinas and Cavite when Mark Villar was DPWH secretary. These include a riverside road that goes directly to commercial establishments owned by the family.
Santos recalled that C-5 Road from Cavite to Quezon City was constructed when Manuel Villar was the House speaker. It is a common knowledge that long before the C-5 construction, the Villar family bought lands, mostly cogonal areas then, alongside the road at cheap prices.
This became a hot issue when Manuel Villar ran for President. His slogan then was "sipag at tiyaga." But his opponents made a play of it, ridiculing it as "C-5 at taga."
The Villar issue seems to be biggest challenge to Ombudsman Remulla. But he appeared fully committed to his mission.
He has formed a task force to investigate infrastructure and land development projects linked to the Villar family.
He said the task force will look into, among others, the controversial Zapote–Las Piñas River Drive project, which was initiated by former senator Cynthia Villar and whose route reportedly passes through property owned by her family.
Remulla, a son of the late Cavite Governor Johnny Remulla, noted that the project’s alignment appears to cut across land owned by the Villar group, raising concerns about potential conflict of interest, transparency in procurement and land use, and whether proper safeguards were followed.
“That's one thing that has to be looked at. 'Pag taga-roon ka, alam mo kanilang lupa 'yun. Nakita mo 'yung river wall, tanong mo, sino gumastos? Gobyerno o sila? It's as simple as that," he said.
Will Remulla be able to do it? Time will tell, but many people, including Congressman Santos, has expressed confidence in his competence and political will, saying he is equal to the task at hand.
Will he spare individuals involved in corruption cases who are close to him?
In a recent interview, he admitted many of the people in the Ombudsman's crosshairs are his friends, party mates and allies. His answer was simple: He had wanted the job and taken an oath.
In other words, he was saying "pasensyahan tayo" if the axe falls on you.