Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman George Erwin Garcia confirmed on Saturday, Oct. 4, that a show-cause order has been issued to Senator Francis "Chiz" Escudero over the P30-million campaign donation he received from a contractor for his May 2022 election bid.

"Ito po ay naipadala na kahapon at ineexpect natin doon sa pagdinig na gagawin either siya po ang pumunta o magpadala ng kanyang abogado (This was already sent yesterday, and we expect that during the hearing, either he will come himself or send his lawyer)," Garcia said in a radio interview over DZBB.

Lawrence Lubiano, the president of Centerways Construction and Development Inc., who admitted that he donated P30 million to the campaign of Escudero when he ran in 2022, was the first to be issued the order. He has already sent his lawyer as well as submitted an affidavit last week.

According to Garcia, Escudero will get to air his side in a scheduled on Oct. 13.

Escudero welcomed the move.

“We welcome the opportunity to prove that — like the others who are similarly situated in the PCIJ report on the 2022 elections — no law has been violated,” he said in a statement.

In a previous interview, Garcia said that after the contractor responds, the next step was to have the poll candidate explain. From there, they can establish that number one, the firm is indeed a government contractor; and number two, that it really donated.

The recipient will then be allowed to give his or her explanation regarding the contribution or donation received.

Garcia has explained that under Section 95(c) of the Omnibus Election Code (OEC), which bars poll candidates from accepting campaign donations from contractors doing business with the government, the prohibition applies regardless of whether it is done before or after the elections.

He also noted that the offense has a prescriptive period of five years, meaning the poll body maintains jurisdiction even after the elections have concluded.

"Yan ang pinaka-puno’t dulo ng magiging desisyon ng Comelec. Mayroon pa bang distinction, mayroon pa bang kaibahan ‘yung private capacity ng isang tao versus ‘yung kanyang pagiging opisyal, may-ari nung kumpanya na ipinagbabawal ng ating probinsyon ng batas (That is the very crux of the Comelec’s decision. Is there still a distinction, a difference, between a person acting in a private capacity and his role as an official or owner of the company that is prohibited under our law’s provisions)," he said.

Comelec is looking into 55 contractors who donated to political candidates during the May 2022 elections.

Escudero has already denied any involvement in flood control projects awarded to his top campaign donor.

He confirmed knowing the contractor, a fellow Sorsogon native, but stressed that the P5.16 billion in projects attributed to the firm represented “less than one percent” of the total funds cited by the President.

President Marcos has revealed that 20 percent of the entire P545-billion flood control projects were awarded to only 15 contractors, adding that five of them had contracts around the Philippines. The construction firm being linked to Escudero ranked seventh among these.