A formal ethics complaint was lodged on Thursday, October 2, against Senator Chiz Escudero, questioning his acceptance of a multimillion-peso campaign donation from a government contractor who later secured billions in state projects.
The complaint, filed by lawyer and publisher Eldrige Marvin Aceron before the Senate ethics committee, cited what he described as troubling overlaps between campaign finance and public contracting. Aceron pointed to Escudero’s 2022 campaign records, which showed a ₱30-million donation from Lawrence Lubiano, president of Centerways Construction and Development Inc.
Centerways, later identified by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. among the top 15 contractors handling over ₱100 billion in flood control projects, expanded rapidly after the donation. Aceron said the case is “not merely about one donation or one contractor,” stressing, “It is about whether the Senate will tolerate blurred lines between personal and corporate wealth, and between campaign finance and government contracting. When books are this broken, and when donations and contracts move in parallel, institutions, not just individuals, are at risk.”
The complaint detailed how Centerways recorded a ₱35-million “Deposit for Subscription” in late 2021, then between December 2021 and May 2022, Lubiano donated ₱30 million to Escudero’s campaign. From 2022 to 2025, the firm secured 90 contracts worth ₱15.9 billion, mostly in Sorsogon and Bicol. By mid-2025, Centerways’ government deals totaled ₱16.67 billion.
Aceron further flagged Lubiano’s 91% ownership of Metroways Health Care and Medical System Inc., which also landed contracts in the Bicol region during the COVID-19 pandemic. “Metroways’ expansion into medical supplies and equipment during the pandemic raises further ethical concerns, particularly regarding hospitals and health centers under then-governor Escudero’s authority,” he wrote.
Escudero, who was ousted as Senate president last month, admitted Lubiano is his friend but denied influencing the awarding of contracts. He responded to the complaint in a Facebook post, saying, “Hindi ko na ito kinagulat. Ito ang kabayaran sa pagbanggit ko sa pangalan ni Martin Romualdez at sa pagbubunyag sa katotohanan. This is just part of the harassment from his minions. This isn’t about ethics. This is political retribution.”
