THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) will summon Senator Francis Escudero next week to give him the opportunity to explain an alleged prohibited campaign contribution he received during the May 2022 elections.
In a media forum in Manila, Comelec Chairman George Garcia said they will be summoning Escudero next after hearing from the camp of Lawrence Lubiano, president of Centerways Construction and Development Inc., last week.
"Nung isang linggom nag-appear na ang abogado nung contractor," said Garcia.
"Ngayong linggo na ito, yung kandidato na nabigyan ng contractor ay may sulat na po siya para mag-appear sa susunod na linggo," he added.
Escudero previously confirmed that Lubiano was his campaign contributor in the 2022 elections.
Lubiano said he donated P30 million to Escudero's senatorial campaign in the 2022 elections while his firm held several government contracts.
Garcia also acknowledged a Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) report saying that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Vice President Sara Duterte were listed among the recipients of potentially prohibited campaign contributions in the May 2022 elections.
He said President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Vice President Sara Duterte were listed among the recipients of contractors’ campaign contributions, as reflected in their Statements of Contributions and Expenditures (Soces) for the May 2022 elections.
"I would like to confirm lang na yung nasa listahan ng PCIJ ay kasama sa aming listahan. Yung nakalagay na pangalan sa PCIJ, nandun sa amin," said Garcia.
(I just want to note that those listed in the PCIJ report are also on our list. The names shown by PCIJ are included in our records.)
"Ang mga kandidato na andun tig-isa sa President at Vice President," he added.
(The candidates listed include one each for President and Vice President.)
In its recent report, PCIJ said both Marcos and Duterte received campaign contributions from public works contractors during the 2022 polls.
Based on their Soces, as noted by PCIJ, Marcos received P20 million from Zamboanga del Sur-based Rudhil Construction & Enterprises Inc.; while Duterte was aided by P19.9 million from construction magnate Glenn Escandor of Esdevco Realty Corporation. (Anton Banal/SunStar Philippines)