The Commission on Elections has cleared Senator Chiz Escudero of any violation over the ₱30 million campaign contribution he received from Lawrence Lubiano and ordered the investigation closed, saying there is “no legal impediment” to the donation.
The inquiry was launched on Comelec’s own initiative after Lubiano publicly stated during a House Committee on Infrastructure hearing that he made a campaign donation to Escudero. Lubiano is the president of Centerways Construction and Development Inc. Notices were issued on September 11, directing both men to explain why they should not face an election offense case. In their sworn submissions, Lubiano admitted giving ₱30,000,000 and both acknowledged they were close friends. Escudero said he had no knowledge of any government dealings involving Centerways at the time of the donation.
The investigation revolved around Section 95(c) of the Omnibus Election Code, which bans campaign contributions “directly or indirectly” from any person or entity holding a government contract for construction, goods, or services and likewise makes it unlawful for a candidate to receive such contributions. Comelec stuck to a strict and literal reading of the law, saying that when statutory language is clear, the duty is application rather than interpretation. In effect, the Commission declined to broaden the scope of the prohibition beyond the exact terms of the statute. Since the provision refers only to the person or entity that is the actual holder of the government contract, Comelec held that it cannot extend that prohibition to a corporate president or officer absent explicit legislative language to that effect.
The ruling stressed the legal separation between Centerways and Lubiano as an individual. Citing jurisprudence, the Commission stated that corporations are separate and distinct legal entities from the natural persons who compose them. It put the conclusion in blunt terms, saying Mr. Lubiano is not Centerways and Centerways is not Mr. Lubiano.
Comelec found no evidence that Lubiano personally held any government contract or subcontract. It also found no proof that the ₱30 million came from Centerways’ corporate funds or that company money entered Escudero’s campaign through Lubiano. The decision said suspicion alone cannot justify piercing the corporate veil or treating a corporate officer and a corporation as one and the same.
With no showing of fraud, bad faith, or corporate funds involved, the Commission held that Lubiano acted in his personal capacity and exercised a personal right to donate. It followed that there was no basis under the law to prohibit Escudero from accepting the contribution, and therefore no ground to pursue any election offense against him for receiving the ₱30 million.
The decision was issued by Atty. Ayman Ramil M. Maquiling of the Political Finance and Affairs Department and approved by Director Atty. Efraim Q. Bag-id.
