Lawyer: Escudero-Lubiano ties ‘already transactional’

Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero and contractor Roberto Lubiano’s relationship was already transactional before the former’s tenure as governor of Sorsogon from 2019 to 2022, according to an omnibus motion submitted by a lawyer.

The motion, filed by lawyer Eldrige Marvin Aceron before the Senate Ethics Committee, comes in the wake of the Senate’s suspension of hearings on the flood control scandal, as the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) has continued to hold closed-door sessions.

Public records show that while Escudero served as governor of Sorsogon, Lubiano’s Metroways Health Care and Medical System won government contracts in 2021.

From December 2021 to May 2022, Lubiano donated P30 million to Escudero’s senatorial campaign. From 2022 to 2025, Lubiano’s Centerways Construction won a total of P16.67 billion in Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) contracts, mostly concentrated in Sorsogon.

“This is not a case of a politician accepting a donation from a friend, then that friend’s company coincidentally winning contracts later,” Aceron pointed out.

“This is a case of a contractor winning government contracts under a governor’s administration, that contractor then donating P30 million to that governor’s Senate campaign, and that contractor’s other companies then winning billions more after the governor becomes senator,” he added.

According to Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chair George Garcia’s public statements on 8 October, Escudero submitted an affidavit stating he “believed” the P30-million donation came from “personal funds” and accepted it based on his friendship with Lubiano.

“That defense is precisely why I documented the P35,070,000 accounting discrepancy in Centerways’ Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings,” Aceron stated.

“The corporate books cannot verify Senator Escudero’s belief. When a sitting senator accepts P30 million from a contractor-owner whose companies were winning government contracts under his own administration, ‘I trusted my friend’ is not sufficient due diligence under RA 6713, or the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees,” he stressed.

Centerways Construction filed three different versions of its 2022 annual financial statements with the SEC. The 2023 filing showed retained earnings of P315,146,828; the 2024 filing showed retained earnings of P280,076,828 (restated); and the 2025 filing showed retained earnings of P280,076,828 (restated).

Thus, P35,070,000 vanished from retained earnings between the first and second filings—during the exact period of the P30-million donation—with no explanation provided under Philippine accounting standards.

The omnibus motion also revealed that Lubiano owns 91 percent of Metroways Health Care and Medical System Inc., founded in 2021.

Public records and social media documentation confirmed that the company won government contracts during Escudero’s governorship, including those for medical supplies and equipment during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Senator Escudero had direct knowledge of Lubiano’s companies winning government contracts because those contracts were awarded during his own governorship,” Aceron explained.

“He cannot claim ignorance of Lubiano’s business interests when accepting the P30 million.”

The omnibus motion specifically asks the Senate Ethics Committee to expedite the referral of the complaint to Escudero with a clear deadline for a response and to issue subpoenas for Centerways Construction’s complete financial records, Metroways Health Care’s complete financial records, Lubiano’s personal financial records, Bureau of Internal Revenue records showing dividend declarations and shareholder transactions, and Provincial Government of Sorsogon records from 2019 to 2022 showing all contracts awarded to both companies.

It also asks the Ethics Committee to conduct a hearing to determine whether “good faith belief” satisfies due diligence requirements under RA 6713, or the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees.

Aceron also questioned how Escudero verified Lubiano’s source of the donation before accepting it, how the P35-million accounting discrepancy relates to the “personal funds” claim, and whether the relationship was already transactional during the governorship.

“Should there be any violations, the case must be referred to the appropriate agencies,” the lawyer said.

The Comelec earlier issued a show-cause order to Escudero, directing him to explain the P30-million campaign donation he received from Lubiano for his Senate return in May 2022. At the time, Escudero was governor of Sorsogon, where Centerways Construction is based.

Escudero, however, has consistently denied violating any law in accepting the donation, adding that the construction firm did not secure any flood control projects from the government.

But data from the “Sumbong sa Pangulo” website of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. showed that of nearly 10,000 flood control projects under his administration from 2022 to 2025, Centerways Construction—which was established in 2009—bagged 85 projects worth P5.4 billion. Fifty-five of those projects were in Sorsogon.