Chiz to attend Comelec probe on campaign donation

Former Senate president Francis Escudero has sent a letter to the Commission on Elections expressing his readiness to be investigated by the poll body for accepting illegal campaign contributions during the 2022 elections, Comelec Chairman George Garcia said yesterday.

- By MAYEN JAYMALIN

"The candidate who received (donation) from a contractor sent us a letter expressing his intention to appear next week. He's a senator. He already made an admission," Garcia said at the Kapihan sa Manila Bay Forum without mentioning the senator's name.

Garcia belied reports that the Comelec is singling out Escudero in its probe on candidates who had accepted donations from government contractors.

He explained that Escudero was among the first to be summoned because the contractor had already admitted giving P30 million in campaign funds to Escudero. The senator confirmed the donation.

In an interview with "Storycon" on One News, Garcia also said he has inhibited from the investigation on Escudero's case, admitting that he served as election lawyer when the senator ran for vice president alongside former senator Grace Poe in the 2016 elections.