Top Sorsogon contractor related to elected officials

CONTRACTORS ON THE FLOOR Lawrence Lubiano (2nd from left), president of Centerways Construction, attends the hearing of the Senate blue ribbon committee on Monday. Also present are the top contractors of the government’s flood control projects, including Sarah Discaya, president of Alpha & Omega General Contractor and Development Corp. —NIÑO JESUS ORBETA

The president of Centerways Construction on Tuesday admitted he had relatives who are elected officials in Sorsogon province, where his firm was the top flood control project contractor with over 80 projects in the past three years alone.

During a hearing of the House tricommittee looking into the government’s flood control projects, Lawrence Lubiano, who donated P30 million to Senate President Francis Escudero’s 2022 senatorial campaign, confirmed to Akbayan Rep. Chel Diokno that he has a brother who is a “town mayor” and another brother who is a “city councilor” in their native Sorsogon.

Lubiano did not name his brothers during Diokno’s interpellation. But there are two Lubianos currently in public office in the province: Donsol Mayor Ralph Walter Lubiano and Sorsogon City Councilor Lester Lubiano.

During the 2025 midterm elections, both Lubianos ran under the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC) of which Escudero, a former Sorsogon governor, is also a stalwart, according to their certificates of candidacy for the 2025 elections.

A government source in Sorsogon, who asked not to be identified for lack of authority to speak to reporters, also confirmed the Lubianos’ relationship.

The Lubianos’ father, Walter Lubiano, also served as the officer in charge of the second engineering district of Albay in 2011.

Centerways is one of the top 15 contractors named by President Marcos that have cornered the bulk of the flood control projects in the country.

A review of the nearly 10,000 flood control projects under the Marcos administration showed that the Sorsogon-based company established in 2009 bagged 85 projects in the past three years worth P5.4 billion. The majority of their projects are located in Sorsogon.

Personal

For flood control projects, Centerways also has records of joint ventures with construction firms linked to the Co family, including Hi-Tone Construction founded by former Ako Bicol Rep. Christopher “Kito” Co (two projects in Sorsogon) and FS Co Builders and Supply founded by his sister and Albay Vice Gov. Farida Co (six projects in Albay).

As for his donation to Escudero’s campaign, Lubiano was quick to clarify that the donation was made in his personal capacity and not through Centerways Construction.

Escudero last month had admitted that he received a donation from Lawrence Lubiano, calling him a friend. The senator, however, denied that he had helped Lubiano bag government infrastructure contracts in his home province.

“I acknowledge that the contractor is my friend, from my hometown in Sorsogon … But the contract bagged was only P5 billion, allegedly. [This is] not even 1 percent of the flood control funds [that] the President mentioned,” Escudero told reporters.

Under the Omnibus Election Code, candidates cannot source any “contribution for purposes of partisan political activity shall be made directly or indirectly” from, among others, people who hold government contracts or subcontracts.

Lubiano’s admission came during the first hearing of the House tricommittee led by Bicol Saro Rep. Terry Ridon that is investigating anomalous, substandard and “ghost” projects as part of the Marcos administration’s broader anticorruption crackdown.

Conflict of interest

At a press conference on Wednesday, Ridon said it was up to the Commission on Elections to pierce the corporate veil about Lubiano’s donation to Escudero’s campaign.

“I understand that that is his defense, that he did it in his own personal capacity. But ultimately the question is, where do you actually get the P30 million? If you got it from Centerways, then probably, that P30 million [donation] was actually made by Centerways,” he said.

Lubiano’s admission that he had relatives in local government was also indicative of a “real problem regarding conflict of interest relating to government contracts,” Ridon added.

At present, he said, there is no law that prohibits relatives of politicians from participating in government contracts.

He said the “infra committee” could look into drafting legislation that would clearly spell out conflict of interest provisions and forbid politicians and their relatives from bidding in government contracts. —WITH A REPORT FROM MA. APRIL MIER-MANJARES