Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman George Erwin Garcia revealed on Thursday, Oct. 16, that there were more or less 9 contractors who donated to politicians in the recent May 2025 elections.

"Lilinawin ko lang for 2025 [elections] wala pa tayong kino-confirm na kahit na sinong kandidato whether nanalo o natalo. Pero kino-confirm ko na more or less ay may nakita na tayong 9 na contractors na nagbigay din ng tulong sa mga pulitiko (Let me clarify that for the 2025 elections, we have not yet confirmed any candidate, whether they won or lost. However, I can confirm that we have identified around nine contractors who also provided assistance to politicians)," he said in an ambush interview.

Garcia has yet to reveal the names as well as the positions of the May 2025 candidates, but the poll body is expected to finish the list in two weeks.

According to the Comelec, the Department of Public Works and Highways has not yet issued a certification for the initial 54 contractors being looked into by the poll body, who made campaign donations to poll candidates during the May 2022 elections.

Comelec asked the agency to certify whether the contractors had contracts with the government before the filing of candidacy, during the filing, or after the conduct of the election. He said that they will also ask for certification for the 9 other contractors they discovered for the May 2025 elections.

"Pag na-confirm din namin yun sa 2025 naman muli namin ilalabas yan bahala na ang public na mag-compare kung talaga bang contractor na nagbigay nung 2022, contractor na nagbigay din nitong 2025 (Once we confirm that, we will release it again for the 2025 elections. It will then be up to the public to compare whether the contractors who made donations in 2022 are the same ones who also gave in 2025)," he added.

Under Section 95(c) of the Omnibus Election Code, no contribution for purposes of partisan political activity shall be made directly or indirectly by natural and juridical persons who hold contracts or sub-contracts to supply the government or any of its divisions, subdivisions, or instrumentalities, with goods or services or to perform construction or other work.

Meanwhile, in the case of Senator Francis "Chiz" Escudero and 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, Garcia said that the Comelec Political Finance and Affairs Department would come up with a recommendation in one to two weeks.

The poll chief said that there's a need to expedite this because the public’s expectations are high and that hopefully, the said recommendation can be forwarded to the Comelec En Banc as soon as possible.

"So, asahan ng mga kababayan natin, up to two weeks, hindi po lalagpas doon, ay magkakaroon na ng resolusyon tungkol sa naturang kaso (So, the public can expect that within two weeks—no later than that—a resolution on the said case will be released)," he added.

Escudero submitted on Tuesday, Oct. 14, an affidavit explaining his position on the P30-million campaign donation.