On the Confirmation of the Appointment of DPWH Secretary Mark Villar
Senate Minority Leader Ralph G. Recto

Mr. President, my dear colleagues:

The nominee is the perfect specimen which proves how true the saying "the present generation is always better than the previous one" is.

He is more handsome than his father, brighter than his mom, and more generous than the two combined.

He takes in twice the work load of his parents. He puts in double shifts a day. One in the office, and the other at home, where he takes the graveyard shift, in his lovely daughter's nursery.

He probably fights off sleep by staring at his impressive art collection, the beautiful aesthetics of which I hope will soon be evident in the public infrastructures he will build.

All of these point to a hands-on management style which is a hallmark of the Villar School of Business.

His dominion is construction, and he had more than 30 years experience, as he grew up in the startup hollow blocks factory of his dad.

So he knows the ins and outs of the industry, from prices of cement, to unit costs. He understands the lexicon of the trade, from rebars to FARs to equipment.

Anyone who doubts that he has yet to walk his talk ought to scan his family's construction portfolio, for there one could see how the complexities of building a 40-storey tower dwarfs the work involved in the building of a three -classroom school.

There's one good thing that he has in him, a character trait so obvious but like people driven by noblesse oblige, he is so embarrassed to talk about it, and that is honesty.

He will serve with the highest ethical standards. He will avoid moral hazards. He will not sully the family name.

And he will adhere to the above while ensuring that projects are done on budget, on specs, and on schedule.

He will prove that transparency need not drag efficiency. That good governance does not impede early delivery.

He knows about this because his experience in building edifices has told him the lesson that letting sunlight in results in better and sturdier infrastructure.

There is no better capataz the Republic can conscript in overseeing the construction of P7 trillion worth of infrastructure in the next five years than the nominee.

Mr. Chairman, Mr. President, my fellow members of the Commission:

I would like to second the confirmation of the appointment of Mark Villar as Secretary of Public Works.