The trail to the collusion of certain members of Congress and contractors, involving the slicing and dicing of pork barrel funds through substandard flood control projects, grew hotter still yesterday.

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) said it is investigating the possible violation of the Omnibus Elections Code regarding campaign donations to at least four legislators from contractors tracing back to the 2022 elections.

Comelec Chairperson George Garcia said three to four contractors may have contributed to the campaigns of senatorial candidates in 2022. He stressed, however, that the findings were still being verified, particularly if the donors had active contracts with the government.

The inquiry followed alleged irregularities in government-funded flood control projects involving contractors who donated to political campaigns.

One of the contractors has been tagged in connection with the campaign of Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero and another in Bulacan may have contributed to the campaign of Senator Joel Villanueva.

Both Escudero and Villanueva have denied receiving contributions from contractors.

Escudero, however, admitted that Centerways Construction and Development Inc. president Lawrence Lubiano was a friend who supported his 2022 campaign.

Centerways was among the five contractors identified by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. as having the biggest haul of flood control projects, reportedly bagging P5.4 billion worth in the Bicol Region and Central Visayas alone.

“At the national level, there were three to four who may be contractors of public works or services in the government who gave assistance to those running for national positions… yes, for senator,” Garcia said.

In a recent television program, Garcia said the Comelec will enforce Section 95 of the Omnibus Election Code if any lawmakers are found guilty of taking illegal campaign distributions.

“It is high time the issue of Section 95 was brought up about prohibited contributions,” he said.

“It turns out it’s not allowed. I’m (a) practicing (lawyer), but I have never defended a case like that. I have never filed one either against any individual regarding that. Because before it seemed acceptable. It was acceptable that there were always people giving, and they would always say that this was done in their private capacity,” Garcia said.

Garcia backpedals?

However, the Comelec chair appeared to have softened in his stand against the members of Congress he earlier exposed as part of the pork syndicate as he underscored that “scrutiny should focus on the contractors rather than the senators.”

The poll body has not yet discussed whether the candidates themselves could be held liable.

“If the one who was given and is running is himself liable, we have not yet discussed that and we are not at that point yet. We first need to determine how many government contractors contributed to the campaign, whether national or local,” he said.

Section 95(c) of the Omnibus Election Code of 1985 says that campaign contributions are prohibited from natural or juridical persons who hold government contracts.

Adding to the difficulty of the investigation is that many donors declared themselves to be simply “businessmen,” making it difficult to verify actual dealings. The Comelec is coordinating with the Department of Public Works and Highways to determine whether the “businessmen” had government contracts during the 2022 polls.

There are currently 42,000 statements of contributions and expenditures (SoCEs) filed in connection with the 2025 elections, including those of 61 senatorial candidates, 155 party-lists, and other local aspirants.