The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has identified nine more contractors who may have donated to candidates in the 2022 elections, chairman George Garcia said on Sunday.
Garcia said seven contractors contributed to the election campaigns of senators and congressmen, and 15 of them donated to political parties and party-lists.
"Lumalabas, isang construction ay nagbigay sa 2-3 kandidato o may isang kandidato, nakinabang sa 3 construction company," Garcia said in an interview on Super Radyo dzBB.
(We found that one contractor donated to two to three candidates, while one candidate benefited from three construction companies.)
Earlier this week, Comelec submitted a list of contractors who possibly donated to candidates in the 2022 elections to the House Committee on Appropriations.
Garcia said three of the 15 contractors awarded with flood control projects disclosed by President Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr. had contributed to candidates in the 2022 election.
"'Yung listahan ng unang 34 na kontratista, amin nang naisumite sa Kamara. Bukas, 'yung dagdag na 9 ay ipo-provide namin sa Kamara by tomorrow," Garcia told DzBB.
(We submitted the list containing the first 34 contractors to the House of Representatives. We will provide the additional nine contractors tomorrow.)
He added that Comelec will reach out to the Department of Public Works and Highways on Monday to confirm if the contractors were under government contracts during the time they contributed to the candidates.
On the same day, the agency will also send a show cause order to the contractors to explain why they gave contributions to the poll candidates, in which they have five days to reply.
Administrative sanction
The Department of the Interior and Local Government and the Ombudsman may impose an administrative sanction once the court finds that seating candidates accept contributions from contractors with government contracts, the poll chief said.
"Hindi pwedeng basta-basta tumanggap ng kahit anong donasyon, tulong, o pera ang kahit sinong nakaupo sa pamahalaan," Garcia said, citing the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees.
(Government officials are not allowed to simply accept any kind of donation, aid, or money.)
He added that a candidate or government official may also face perpetual disqualification to hold public office.
Garcia reiterated that contractors in government projects are prohibited from contributing funds to candidates, as they and the receiver may face one to six years of imprisonment.
"Ang mga nagbibigay ay hindi lamang sila ang liable, hindi lamang 'yung may kontrata sa pamahalaan, service o public works, 'yung mga nagmimina, may prangkisa, 'yung mga nasa educational institution din," the poll chief said.
(Those who have contracts with the government, involved in services or public works, mining, have franchises, and even those from educational institutions can be held liable.)
Article XI of the Omnibus Election Code states:
"SECTION 95. Prohibited contributions. - No 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 sub-contracts to supply the government or any of its divisions, subdivisions or instrumentalities, with goods or services or to perform construction or other works."
Last Wednesday, Lawrence Lubiano, president of Centerways Construction and Development Inc., one of the 15 construction firms that secured government flood control projects, said he donated P30 million to Senate President Francis "Chiz" Escudero's campaign in 2022 from his own pocket.
Escudero said Tuesday that Lubiano was his campaign contributor in the 2022 elections. The Senate president denied involvement in any flood control projects in his home province of Sorsogon and other parts of the country. -- KG, GMA Integrated News