A post on Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Mark Villar’s official Facebook page earned negative reactions from Ilonggo netizens.

On Friday, Sept. 3, Villar posted a drone shot of the Iloilo River Esplanade and used the hashtag “BuildBuildBuild” at the end of his caption.

Build, Build, Build is the “ambitious” P8.4-trillion infrastructure program of the Duterte administration. It was launched in 2017 to, among others, “accelerate infrastructure spending and develop industries that will yield robust growth.”

Former Iloilo City councilor and now Iloilo Third District Board Member Jason Gonzales said he was “deeply offended” by Villar’s post.

“Sec. Mark Villar, please take your credit-grabbing elsewhere. Ga-init ulo ko ah,” he said.

Gonzales noted that the Iloilo River Esplanade project was conceptualized and large of it were built during the administration of the late president Benigno Aquino III.

“The remaining parts of it were constructed during the current administration. Sec. Mark Villar’s post that captioned it with the hashtag ‘BuildBuildBuild’ is disingenuous and misleading,” he added.

“It’s like inventing the side mirror and then claiming you invented the car that’s attached to it.”

Marivic Mabilog, the wife of former Iloilo City mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog, also lambasted Villar for allegedly claiming credit for the project.

She told the secretary to “keep his dirty hands off the Iloilo River Esplanade.”

“Ano dumdum mo sa mga Ilonggo, mango? You shamelessly spread lies just to get some political mileage,” said Mabilog.

Villar is included in the PDP-Laban’s initial senatorial slate for the elections next year.

Here are some of the comments of netizens on Facebook:

“Credit grabber.”

“May ginarenovate kami di sa balay basi gusto mo i-upod sa Build, Build, Build mo da.”

“Declare the credit grabber persona non grata! puede diba Iloilo?”

“Gapang-angkon lang hahahaha…”

“Ayyyyy wala na gid ta da? Kami na mga Ilongo kabalo na wala gid kamo da inamutan pay…”

“Sooo ano credit to you??! halos tanan di nga lupa inyo na sng pamilya nyo ah.”

–IMT