Comelec: 9 contractors gave to bets in ’25 polls
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has so far counted nine contractors who made campaign contributions to some candidates in the May midterm elections.
Comelec chair George Erwin Garcia said on Thursday that they were still going through the statements of contributions and expenditures or Soces filed by 66 senatorial candidates and 155 party list groups.
According to him, they have yet to confirm whether any candidate who lost or won at the time received any donation from contractors.
“But I am confirming that more or less, nine contractors donated to politicians,” he told reporters.
Garcia added that once they finalize the list of contractors, it will be submitted to the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to help them determine if any of them were awarded government contracts.
He reiterated that government contractors are barred from making political campaign contributions while the candidates themselves are prohibited from accepting or soliciting donations from people with government contracts under Section 95(c) of the Omnibus Election Code. Violators face one to six years imprisonment, while candidates may be perpetually disqualified from holding any government post, Garcia said.
The Comelec’s Political Finance and Affairs Department earlier found that 55 contractors donated to the campaign of some candidates in the 2022 elections.
Waiting on DPWH
However, the poll body is still waiting for the DPWH to act on its request to identify who among these contractors later bagged government projects.
One of those who admitted to making political contributions was Lawrence Lubiano, president of Centerways Construction and Development Inc., who was asked by the Comelec to explain his P30-million donation to Sorsogon Gov. Francis “Chiz” Escudero, who was then running for the Senate.
A show cause order was also issued to Escudero, who said in his affidavit to the poll body that he believed the donation was made by Luciano in a private capacity because they are friends.
Asked if the senator has already been absolved after he submitted his explanation, Garcia said he remains under investigation.
“At this point, no. That’s the reason why we asked him to explain. Not just him but also the contractor and maybe more later on when we get confirmation from the DPWH,” he said in an interview on dzMM Teleradyo.
Garcia also explained that the poll body was not singling out Escudero in its investigation. It just so happened that he and Lubiano publicly confirmed the P30 million donation the senator received from the latter for his senatorial campaign in 2022, he added.
The Comelec chair said that the poll body will not be the one responsible for disqualifying the erring candidates already serving their terms because it already lost its jurisdiction over them following their proclamation.
