Comelec: 27 gov’t contractors donate to 2022 poll bets

Comelec chair George Erwin Garcia —NOY MORCOSO/INQUIRER.NET

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has found that 27 contractors who donated to candidates’ campaigns in the 2022 elections secured government contracts.

Comelec chair George Erwin Garcia disclosed this on Wednesday, noting that the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) had already provided the poll body with the certification that determines which of the 54 contractors on its list have ties with the government.

“Based on the certification, we asked if they are government contractors or public works contractors; the DPWH said that 27 of them are government contractors,” Garcia told reporters in an interview.

READ: Comelec to publish list of gov’t contractors who donated to 2022 bets

“They have contracts starting in 2010 onwards until 2025,” Garcia added.

Meanwhile, Garcia said that the other 26 are not public works contractors.

The poll body on Wednesday also released the list of the contractors who secured contracts with the government and those who did not.

Garcia earlier said that it submitted to the DPWH a list of 54 contractors to identify which among them are government contractors.

When asked why the list of certification only adds up to 53 contractors, Garcia explained that the other one was listed as a person and not a corporation. Therefore, the DPWH did not include that for certification.

Earlier, Garcia said that it submitted a list of 54 contractors to the DPWH to identify which are government contractors. He added that the poll body will release the list of government contractors who pitched in to candidates’ campaigns within the day.

When asked why the list of certifications only adds up to 53 contractors, Garcia explained that the other one was listed as a person and not a corporation. Therefore, the DPWH did not include that for certification.

After this, Garcia said that the poll body will issue show-cause orders to the government contractors to explain their actions. After that, the candidates who received donations will be asked to explain.

READ: 6 more senators received donations from contractors

However, Garcia said that the list and the show cause orders does not prove that the contractors are already guilty of violation of the Section 95(c) of Omnibus Election Code.

“The list certifies that they have contracts with the government. That is a public government in possession of the DPWH,” he noted.

Section 95(c) of the OEC states that “[n]o contribution for purposes of partisan political activity shall be made directly or indirectly by any of the following: (c) natural and 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.”

The last part of the Section 95 also states that “[i]t shall be unlawful for any person to solicit or receive any contribution from any of the persons or entities enumerated herein.”

READ: Comelec: Chiz affidavit says he thought P30M was ‘private fund’

The poll body earlier summoned Lawrence Lubiano, the president of the Centerways Construction and Development Inc., to explain his P30-million donation to the campaign of then-senatorial candidate Francis “Chiz” Escudero in the 2022 elections.

Garcia previously said that Escudero, who was also summoned, claimed in his affidavit that he only accepted the donation as he believed that the money came from a “private fund.”

During one of the hearings of the House of Representatives, Lubiano admitted to donating the said amount to the campaign of Escudero. This was then confirmed by Escudero but argued that he did not help Lubiano secure projects from the government. /cb