Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero said the ruling of the Commission on Elections Nov. 26, which cleared him and a campaign donor of any violation of the Omnibus Election Code in line with the P30-million campaign contributions, “strengthens my faith in our institutions and reinforces my commitment to continue serving with integrity and accountability.”
The Comelec’s Political Finance and Affairs Department (PFAD) cleared Escudero and Lawrence Lubiano, president of Centerways Construction and Development Inc., saying there was “no evidence to support a complaint that…the Omnibus Election Code was violated.”
“When Lubiano contributed to the campaign of Escudero (in the May 2022 elections), the former merely exercised a right that is personal to him,” the PFAD said in a nine-page decision promulgated Nov. 26, per the Philippine News Agency. “There is no evidence establishing that the funds used in the contribution originated from Centerways, or that its corporate money crept into the campaign funds of Escudero…”
The senator, in a statement, stressed that the Comelec decision “affirms what we have always believed and practiced—that transparency, honesty, and adherence to the rules matter, and that the truth prevails when the process is fair.”
He stressed that since he first ran for public office in 1998, he has consistently complied with election laws, noting this is the foundation of public trust.
“The Comelec’s ruling strengthens my faith in our institutions, and reinforces my commitment to continue serving with integrity and accountability,” the former Senate president stressed. ||
