Sen. Francis Escudero yesterday slammed as ‘political retribution’ the ethics complaint filed against him at the Senate over his P30-million campaign donation from flood control contractor Lawrence Lubiano of Centerways Construction and Development.
Escudero was referring to a complaint filed against him by lawyer Eldridge Marvin Aceron for accepting campaign funds from Lubiano for his Senate comeback bid in the 2022 elections.
The former Senate president pointed out the timing of the complaint days after he delivered a plenary speech naming his counterpart, former speaker Martin Romualdez’s role in the alleged kickbacks scheme from flood control projects.?Escudero himself is accused by former Department of Public Works and Highways undersecretary Roberto Bernardo of receiving P160 million in kickbacks, an allegation Escudero denied.
‘I am not surprised anymore. This is what I pay for naming Martin Romualdez, and for uncovering the truth. This is just part of the harassment from his minions,’ the senator posted on social media in Filipino.
‘This isn’t about ethics. This is political retribution. This complaint is still part of their script and a desperate smokescreen. I will expose it for the politically motivated sham that it is,’ he added, using the hashtags ‘#SelectiveJustice’ and ‘#LabananAngScriptNiMartin.’
According to Aceron’s ethics complaint, Lubiano’s Centerways – one of the top 15 flood control contractors flagged by President Marcos – bagged 112 contracts worth P16.67 billion in Escudero’s turf, Sorsogon, from 2021 to 2025.
Escudero served as Sorsogon governor from 2019 to 2022.
Aceron alleged Centerways secured only 12 contracts worth P720 million in 2021, but this ‘escalated dramatically’ to P15.9 billion worth of contracts from 2022 to 2025, or after the P30-million donation to Escudero.
‘The sheer number, aggregate value and geographic concentration of these projects, coinciding with the P30-million donation, underscore the appearance of impropriety and raise serious doubts about the independence of public procurement from political influence,’ the 21-page complaint read.
‘This stark before-and-after contrast strengthens the inference that the donation and the subsequent flow of contracts in the Senator’s bailiwick are linked in both timing and magnitude,’ it added.
Sen. JV Ejercito, who chairs the ethics committee, confirmed the verified complaint against Escudero, but said he has yet to convene the committee since his designation last week.
Ejercito said he will still ‘see if there is still a need’ to tackle the complaint, with the Independent Commission for Infrastructure already tackling Escudero’s alleged role in the controversy.