MANILA, Philippines — Recently resigned Public Works Secretary Mark Villar filed his candidacy for senator before the Commission on Elections on Wednesday.
Villar will be running under Nacionalista, the party chaired by his father, billionaire and former Sen. Manny Villar, and led by his mother, Sen. Cynthia Villar.
The faction of the ruling Partido Demokratiko Pilipino – Lakas ng Bayan led by Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi named the younger Villar as one of its guest senatorial candidates during its convention last month.
Should he get elected, the younger Villar will be joining his mother in the Senate, who emerged as the frontrunner in the 2019 senatorial race.
The former public works secretary was one of the top senatorial candidates in the Pulse Asia survey conducted from September 6 to 11, where 36.2% of Filipinos said they would vote for him as senator.
The Villar family owns property developer Vista Land and homebuilder Camella Homes, prompting some to criticize Villar’s appointment as public works secretary as having conflict of interest.