The Office of the Ombudsman will establish a special task force to review infrastructure projects linked to the Villar family in Bacoor, Cavite, and Las Piñas City, including the Zapote-Las Piñas River Drive.
Ombudsman Jesus Crispin “Boying” Remulla said the task force will focus on examining the project’s alignment and nearby developments amid persistent flooding in surrounding areas.
“We are forming a new task force for that, just for Villar itself – ‘yung [the] Zapote River Drive together with the Bacoor properties that were boundaries of the rivers… There were improvements made in that area,” Remulla said in a briefing.
He added, “‘Pag taga-roon ka, ‘pag dumaan ka roon, alam mo kanilang lupa ‘yun.”
The Zapote-Las Piñas River Drive, initiated by former Senator Cynthia Villar and implemented by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) in 2012, was intended to ease traffic and improve flood control. However, residents say flooding continues despite its completion.
A Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) report earlier noted that the road passes through several Villar-owned properties, raising concerns over a possible conflict of interest.
Las Piñas Representative Mark Anthony Santos had blamed the project for worsening floods due to narrower waterways, while Villar defended it as a measure that helped decongest traffic.
The move comes after President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. ordered a separate probe into PrimeWater Infrastructure Corp., also owned by the Villar family, following complaints of poor water service in their franchise areas.