3 senators being probed for contractor donations

Comelec: Both personal and company donations banned

- By EJ MACABABBAD

Campaign contributions of at least four bets during the 2022 elections are currently under review to determine if they received donations from government contractors, according to Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman George Garcia.

The poll body chief said the review covers three senators and one local bet in Bulacan.

He did not specify their identities.

The announcement comes amid heightened scrutiny of government contractors connected to alleged irregularities in flood control projects.

Garcia said the Comelec's motu proprio investigation, the results of which will be out in two to three weeks, extends to all candidates, not just the ones generating headlines.

"We should not only focus on the personality who came out last week, but also on other personalities," he told "Storycon" on One News yesterday, referring to Senate President Francis Escudero.

In a report that Escudero slammed as a "demolition job," it was revealed that he received P30 million from Lawrence Lubiano, president of Centerways Construction and Development Inc., during his 2022 comeback run. Centerways is among 15 contractors that cornered 20 percent of all flood control deals, amounting to P545 billion.

Escudero admitted that he is "friends" with Lubiano—his top donor—but denied helping the Sorsogon-based firm bag contracts when he was the provincial governor from 2019 to 2022.

Philippine election law prohibits government contractors from donating to campaign kitties. Section 95(c) of the Omnibus Election Code states that "natural and juridical persons who hold contracts or sub-contracts to supply the government...with goods or services or to perform construction or other works" are banned from directly or indirectly contributing to partisan political activity.

The Comelec has a five-year prescriptive period to pursue any contractor found violating this law.