November 14, 2025 | 3:36pm
MANILA, Philippines — A criminal and administrative complaint was filed on Friday, November against Sen. Chiz Escudero and Sorsogon officials after a 2021 Commission on Audit report that flagged possible malversation involving around P352.7 million. Escudero was the province’s governor at that time.
Private lawyer Marvin Aceron, who earlier sought a Senate ethics probe into a contractor’s campaign donation to Escudero, lodged the complaint before the Ombudsman on November 14, accusing the senator and Sorsogon officials of graft, technical malversation, falsification, fraud and grave misconduct.
The 51-page complaint particularly lists the bids and awards committee members, the acting accountant, the treasurer of Sorsogon, and other local officials as respondents.
According to Aceron’s review of the 2021 COA report, there were at least eight “questionable” transactions made by the Sorsogon government under Escudero’s leadership. Some of these include the following findings:
- P125,704,889.93
- The value of 40 infrastructure contracts awarded to the same contractors with the same personnel and equipment, on top of overlapping implementation period.
- P15,474,262.65
- Six years’ worth of allegedly undisbursed national government funds, which include P10 million in typhoon relief funds.
- P8,440,701.12
- The janitorial and laundry contracts were backed by allegedly falsified documents, conflicting notarizations, and fake client references.
- P1,655,400.00
- Disbursements under the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD) Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers program (TUPAD) were found to have defective signatures, missing authorizations, and were improperly implemented by board members.
- P5,654,955.90
- The value of development projects “improperly charged to the 20% Development Fund,” which was not included in the approved procurement plan.
- P195,748,853.86
- The value of “unreliable” property, plant and equipment accounts, including ghost assets and structures that have already been demolished.
Aceron told reporters in an ambush interview that he only came across COA’s findings after filing an ethics case before the Senate, eventually noticing a “pattern of corruption” allegedly committed by Escudero.
“This is not an isolated year of malfeasance. The COA Reports for 2022 and 2023 reveal the same pattern — qualified opinions on the province’s financial statements that persist to this very day,” he said in the complaint.
The private lawyer also noted how state auditors have already warned the Sorsogon government of notices of suspension for questionable disbursements and failure to correct deficiencies observed.
He said the local government’s repeated claim of “time constraints” for failing to implement the Commission on Audit’s recommendations is unacceptable, “for a province with a budget of over P2 billion and adequate personnel.”
The complaint asks the Ombudsman to issue subpoenas requiring respondents to produce documents related to the issues cited, including bidding documents for 40 overlapping infrastructure projects, the P10 million typhoon relief fund from the Office of the President, TUPAD program records, and accounting ledgers.
It also seeks a preventive suspension order against Escudero pending investigation to prevent possible evidence tampering, witness harassment and to protect the integrity of the inquiry.
Aceron also requested the Ombudsman to issue a freeze order on the bank accounts of all respondents and hold departure orders to prevent them from leaving the country.
“For years, the Commission on Audit has faithfully documented these irregularities — malinaw pa sa sikat ng araw (clearer than the sunlight). The evidence has always been there, publicly available, waiting for someone to act. Yet prosecutorial agencies remained silent,” he said, criticizing the government’s inaction over possible corruption.
Aceron further stressed that the filing of complaints to appropriate agencies is in no way for “political vendetta or personal gain” as claimed by Escudero. “The complaint is filed because silence is complicity,” he added.
Escudero already faces multiple allegations, including a P30 million campaign donation from the owner of top flood contractor, Centerways Construction, as well as facilitating budget insertions and receiving project kickbacks.
Both the Commission on Elections and the Independent Commission for Infrastructure are investigating these cases. No formal charges, however, have been filed yet against the former Senate president.