The Makabayan bloc has demanded that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Vice President Sara Duterte confront allegations that they received campaign contributions from government contractors during the 2022 elections.
ACT Teachers Party-list Rep. Antonio Tinio and Kabataan Party-list Rep. Renee Co issued the call as Filipinos gathered at the People Power Monument on September 21 to denounce corruption in billion-peso flood control projects.
In a strongly worded statement, the lawmakers urged Marcos and Duterte to “publicly acknowledge and immediately disclose all campaign donations received from government contractors,” waive any immunity or privilege, and “accept the legal and political consequences of their actions, including potential imprisonment and disqualification from holding public office if found guilty of electoral violations.”
“No one is above the law. Not even the President and Vice President of the Republic,” the group stressed.
The bloc cited findings from the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism showing alleged violations of Section 95 of the Omnibus Election Code, which prohibits candidates from accepting donations from entities doing business with the government.
Based on official Statements of Contributions and Expenditures (SOCE), Marcos was said to have received P20 million from Rodulfo Hilot Jr. of Rudhil Construction, a firm whose government contracts surged to P3.5 billion by 2024. He also accepted P1 million from Jonathan Quirante, whose company’s contracts jumped by over a billion pesos a year after his donation.
Meanwhile, Duterte’s SOCE reflected nearly P20 million worth of campaign ads funded by Glenn Escandor’s Esdevco Realty Corporation. Escandor’s construction arm, Genesis88, later emerged as Davao del Sur’s top flood-control contractor, bagging P2.9 billion worth of projects under the Marcos administration.
“These are not campaign contributions—they are down payments on the wholesale auction of government contracts,” the lawmakers said, warning that the scandal exposed how infrastructure was being turned into a “private enrichment scheme.”
Makabayan further pressed the Commission on Elections to investigate all officials who declared similar donations in their SOCE, and to suspend the participation of Rudhil Construction, Quirante Construction, and Genesis88 in ongoing and future projects until the probe concludes.
“Every flooded street, every overpriced bridge, every dilapidated classroom stands as evidence of this betrayal,” the bloc said, vowing to continue exposing what it described as a system captured by the ruling elite.
