COMMISSION on Elections (Comelec) Chairman George Garcia on Thursday, August 14, 2025, said the commission will not pre-judge the issue involving Senate President Francis "Chiz" Escudero and his campaign contributors in the 2022 elections.
In an online interview, Garcia said he refuses to comment on the alleged violation of the rules on prohibited campaign donations.
"Maganda rin marinig natin ang kabuuan ng explanation ng Senate President... Tingnan natin ang kabuuan. Ayaw natin i-preempt," Garcia said.
(It’s also good to hear the full explanation from the Senate President… Let’s look at the whole picture. We don’t want to pre-empt it.)
He added that what is clear is that the Omnibus Election Code provides a list of prohibited campaign contributors.
Under the Omnibus Election Code, "no contribution for purposes of partisan political activity shall be made directly or indirectly by natural or juridical persons who hold contracts or subcontracts to supply the government, or any of its divisions, subdivisions, or instrumentalities, with goods or services, or to perform construction or other works."
"Importante ay maliwanag na may prohibition sa contributions," Garcia said.
(The important thing is that it’s clear there is a prohibition on contributions.)
On Tuesday, Escudero identified Lawrence Lubiano, president of Centerways Construction and Development Inc., as his campaign contributor in the 2022 elections.
Centerways Construction and Development is one of the government's contractors for flood control projects, as disclosed by President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.
In a related development, Garcia said their Political Finance and Affairs Department (PFAD) is strongly considering investigating the presence of prohibited contributors in the Statements of Contributions and Expenditures (Soce) of candidates in the 2022 and 2025 elections.
The poll chief noted that violations of the Omnibus Election Code have a prescriptive period of five years.
"Almost sure, gagawin yun ng aming PFAD. Kahapon, tinalakay na namin yan. Nagbigay na tayo ng instructions sa PFAD kasi kasama yun sa kanilang mga titingnan," Garcia said.
(Almost certainly, our PFAD will do that. We discussed it yesterday and have already given instructions to PFAD since it is part of what they will be reviewing.)
"Maaaring nangyari nung 2022 o nung 2025, it doesn't matter. Hangga’t may prescriptive period, pwede pa kami gumawa ng hakbang dahil nasa jurisdiction namin yan," he added.
(It may have happened in 2022 or 2025, it doesn’t matter. As long as it’s within the prescriptive period, we can still take action because it falls under our jurisdiction.) (Anton Banal/SunStar Philippines)