Waiting for comeuppance

After Sen. Francis Escudero was ousted Monday and replaced as Senate president by Sen. Vicente Sotto III, the public awaits with bated breath what comes next for this former Senate leader, whose handling of Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment case provoked public outrage and disgust.

Widely seen as being aligned with the Duterte bloc in the Senate, Escudero redefined the meaning of the term “forthwith” in the constitutional provision on the impeachment process and postponed the trial for months, until a Supreme Court decision—described as based on inaccurate information by some quarters—slammed the House’s impeachment initiative. This allowed Escudero and his allies to archive the impeachment trial that would have compelled the Vice President to divulge how she had disposed of P125 million confidential funds and taxpayer money in just 11 days.

Escudero’s questionable choice of committee chairs added fire to public ire, with him handing out sensitive posts seemingly based on politics and loyalty rather than competence and experience. His choice of a neophyte senator to head the powerful blue ribbon committee was put to severe test in the ongoing Senate hearing on botched flood control projects, with his colleagues repeatedly challenging Sen. Rodante Marcoleta’s handling of the investigative sessions, citing his brusque manner, rude side remarks, and partisan allocation of time for interpellation.

Conflict of interest

But Escudero’s woes are just starting. President Marcos’ release of the list of top 15 contractors who had cornered 25 percent of the country’s P545-billion budget for public works has led to a thorough probe of contractors, lawmakers, and high-living personnel of the Department of Public Works & Highways.

Among the most damaging revelations in the ongoing probe was the P30-million campaign donation Escudero got for his 2022 senatorial bid from Lawrence Lubiano, owner of Centerways Construction and Development Inc. A review of some 10,000 flood control projects under the Marcos administration showed that Centerways, established in 2009, had bagged 85 projects in the past three years worth P5.4 billion. Majority of the projects are in Sorsogon, Escudero’s bailiwick where he once served as governor.

While Escudero has admitted receiving the donation, he downplayed Centerways’ billions in government contracts as “not even 1 percent of the flood control funds mentioned by the President.” But Lubiano’s admission that he has relatives in local government posts who ran in 2025 under the Nationalist People’s Coalition, of which Escudero is a stalwart, reveals a “conflict of interest relating to government contracts” as well, noted Rep. Terry Ridon.

Election offense

While no law prohibits relatives of government contractors from running for office, such a practice easily leads to the erosion of checks and balances that enables corruption and lack of transparency and accountability in the use of public funds.

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has identified at least 43 contractors so far who contributed to the 2022 campaign kitty of seven national candidates (senators and congressmen) and 15 political parties and party list groups, in violation of the Omnibus Election Code. The Code prohibits any contribution “for purposes of partisan political activity, directly or indirectly,” by any “natural and juridical persons who hold [government] contracts or sub-contracts to supply … goods or services.”

“If their names are mentioned and they have contracts with the government, or are about to have contracts, that is an election offense punishable by one to six years’ imprisonment, especially for the contractor who gave the donation,” Comelec Chair George Garcia said in an interview. Candidates or politicians who accepted the prohibited donations could meanwhile face perpetual disqualification to hold public office, Garcia added.

Vested interest

The ball is now in Comelec’s court: how soon before it moves to enforce the law? After its laudable—if belated—move to remove the Duterte Youth party list from the roster of Congressional representatives for several violations, would this election body have the gumption and integrity to also mete out the disqualification of these politicians from their seats? As lawmakers, they should be the first to uphold the law instead of invoking loopholes to protest their innocence and protect their unscrupulous lieutenants.

Learning from this painful episode, the election body and Congress should put in place measures and legislation that would impose strict ceilings on donations and advertising, and real-time digital disclosure of campaign contributions and spending to curb dependence on donors with vested interests.

Now is the best time to prove equality and justice before the law, if only to regain public trust in government institutions that lawmakers have wantonly betrayed for so long.