Las Piñas Rep. Mark Anthony Santos has rejected the Villar family’s claim that the prolonged delay in the multibillion-peso LRT-1 Cavite Extension Project was caused solely by complex right-of-way issues.
Villar-owned companies Fine Properties Inc. and Villar Land Holdings, Inc. earlier denied causing the delay, saying they had voluntarily offered to donate the properties needed for the project to speed up construction and avoid lengthy expropriation proceedings.
Santos, however, maintained that the delay stemmed from the failure to finalize the proposed Right-of-Way Usage Agreement, which remains unsigned despite repeated directives from President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. for the Department of Transportation to address the project’s bottlenecks.
According to Santos, officials of the DOTr, the Light Rail Transit Authority, the Light Rail Manila Corp., and representatives of the Villar Group held several official meetings from September 2021 to June 2025 to finalize the proposed ROWUA.
Despite these discussions, Santos said the agreement has yet to be signed, preventing the government from moving forward with the revised alignment of the LRT-1 Cavite Extension Project.
“Imagine, a single family can delay—or even derail—a project that would benefit millions of ordinary Filipinos and taxpayers. We have documentary evidence o resibo showing that this government project has been repeatedly delayed,” Santos said.
The LRT-1 Cavite Extension Project has been in development for decades, spanning the administrations of former Presidents Joseph Estrada, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, Benigno Aquino III, Rodrigo Duterte, and President Marcos.
The unresolved issues have affected Phase 2 of the ₱64.915-billion project, which covers the Las Piñas and Zapote stations.
The neophyte lawmaker also cited a two-page letter from DOTr Secretary Giovanni Lopez to Cynthia J. Javarez, president of Fine Properties Inc. and Golden MV Holdings, Inc.
Santos said the letter stated that, despite continued coordination and good-faith efforts by the government, the landowners, referring to the Villar Group, have yet to approve the draft ROWUA needed to formalize their commitment to donate the property at no cost to the government.
Earlier, Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla said Senators Mark and Camille Villar were reportedly blocking the continuation of the Light Rail Transit Line 1 extension project in Cavite.
Quoting allegations raised during the controversy, Remulla said: “There’s an alignment in Sucat, Parañaque, where the project stopped because they allegedly want it along C-5, where they have properties.”
He further alleged that the original alignment may have been affected by proposals involving alternative routes.
“Gusto nila dumaan sa lupa nila kasi may alignment na ‘yan doon sa Sucat. Doon tinigil nila… gusto nila itaas sa C-5 kung saan may lupa sila,” Remulla said.
Remulla also raised concerns about possible influence within the legislative process, noting that the investigation is ongoing.
The Villar siblings have denied Remulla’s allegations.
In August 2023, Villar was reportedly eyeing a takeover of the last three stations of the project, beyond which he proposed building seven more stops to extend the line all the way to Governor’s Drive in Dasmariñas, Cavite, via Molino.
The Villar family owns a vast land bank in Las Piñas and Cavite under the 3,500-hectare Villar City. This would enable the construction of succeeding phases of the project via Molino Road instead of Aguinaldo Highway.
In August last year, listed Villar Land Holdings Corp. and its top officials were fined a total of P12 million by the Securities and Exchange Commission for failing to submit their 2024 annual report and first-quarter report for 2025.
In an order dated Aug. 18, the SEC Markets and Securities Regulation Department imposed the maximum P1-million administrative fine each against Villar Land and 11 officials, totaling P12 million, instead of suspending the company’s registration statement and permit to offer and sell securities.
In February this year, the SEC filed a criminal complaint against Villar Land Holdings Corp. for alleged market manipulation, insider trading, and misleading disclosures that allegedly distorted the company’s share prices.