At least four senators who won in the May 2025 midterm elections received campaign donations from contractors, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) confirmed on Wednesday.
Comelec Chairman George Erwin M. Garcia said that based on their initial investigation, 26 contractors donated to 14 national and local candidates, including six senators-four of whom were elected-two political parties, one national political party, three district representatives, and two governors.
‘We cannot disclose the names yet because we are still gathering complete information from the Statements of Contributions and Expenditures.We will release everything once the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) confirms that the donors are indeed public contractors,’ Garcia told reporters.
Garcia said Comelec’s Political Finance and Affairs Department (PFAD) aims to finish its review of all 2025 SOCEs by Friday.
Once completed, the list will be forwarded to the DPWH next week to verify how many of the listed donors had ongoing government contracts when they contributed to the candidates.
In September, the Comelec also sent the DPWH a separate list of 54 campaign donors who were contractors in the 2022 elections.
Garcia said the poll body is still waiting for the agency’s official response.
‘When the second batch comes in, we hope the first batch will also be released so we can already begin the process for those 54 contractors,’ he added.
The poll chief stressed that the Comelec cannot move forward with its case buildup until the DPWH confirms which donors were involved in government projects at the time.
‘Some of our fellow citizens may already be impatient, but this kind of case buildup takes time.We need solid evidence because remember these are criminal cases.that require proof beyond reasonable doubt,’ he explained, adding that the Comelec wants to avoid filing weak cases that may be dismissed in court.
All names to be made public
Garcia also assured that once the list is verified, the names of all involved candidates and contractors will be made public.
He said the list will be made publicly accessible, including to the Independent Commission for Infrastructure, should it choose to coordinate with the Comelec in gathering additional evidence.
The poll chief emphasized that the Comelec, as an independent constitutional body, has the sole mandate to investigate and prosecute violations of the Omnibus Election Code.
‘The Comelec does not need to consult with any other body to perform its mandate,’ Garcia said.
After reviewing contractors who made donations, the PFAD will next examine whether mining firms and companies with government franchises also contributed to candidates.
Under Section 95 of the Omnibus Election Code, contractors and suppliers of government projects are prohibited from donating-directly or indirectly-to any partisan political activity.
The same ban applies to financial institutions (except for legitimate loans), utilities, companies with government franchises or contracts, natural resource extractors, recipients of large government loans, publicly funded schools, civil service officials, members of the armed forces, and all foreigners and foreign corporations.
Both donors and recipients found guilty of violating the law face imprisonment of one to six years.