A private citizen has asked the Supreme Court to review a Commission on Elections (COMELEC) ruling that cleared Senator Chiz Escudero of alleged wrongdoing over a ₱30 million campaign donation from a government contractor during the 2022 elections.
High school teacher John Barry Tayam filed a “motion for leave of court to file and admit petition for review” on Friday, December 26, seeking to “annul” and “set aside” the resolution issued by the COMELECʼs Political Finance and Affairs Department (PFAD) a month earlier.
The petition also urged the High Court to “direct” COMELEC to initiate proceedings for a possible violation of Section 95 (c) of the Omnibus Election Code, which bans campaign contributions from individuals or entities holding government contracts.
The PFAD previously ruled that the donation made by contractor Lawrence Lubiano did not violate election laws, citing that Lubiano and his firm, Centerways Construction and Development, “have distinct legal entities,” despite Lubiano being Escudero’s top donor in 2022.
Tayam disputed this finding, saying Lubiano and the company should be treated as one since he is the majority owner and benefits from its income.
“It’s a matter of technicalities kaya kailangan po natin ng tulong ng Korte Suprema,” he said.
He stressed that his filing was not for “media mileage” or “political purposes,” but an exercise of his rights as a voter and taxpayer to promote transparency and accountability.
“Isang patunay na hindi ako binabayaran dito, sariling pera ko po. Tinataguan ko pa nga ‘yung mga inaanak ko may pang-file lang ako rito,” Tayam added.
Tayam also said he plans to file a petition for mandamus to compel COMELEC to release Statements of Contributions and Expenditures covering the 2022 to 2025 elections.
COMELEC Chairman George Garcia declined to comment, noting the poll body has yet to receive a copy of the petition.
Escudero has not issued a response as of this writing.