Chiz says flood control contractor a campaign donor, denies links with projects
As this developed, Escudero said Lawrence Lubiano, president of the Centerways Construction and Development Inc., was his campaign contributor in the 2022 elections. Centerways Construction and Development is one of the contractors that bagged P545-billion flood control contracts, as disclosed by President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.
"For the record, wala akong kinalaman sa pag-identify, paggawa ng program of work, pag-bid, pag-award, pagbayad, pag-inspeksyon ng anumang proyekto sa pamahalaan sa Sorsogon man o sa labas ng lalawigan ng Sorsogon," the Senate president said at a press conference.
(For the record, I have nothing to do with identifying, making a program of work, bidding, awarding, paying, or inspecting any government project whether in Sorsogon or outside the province of Sorsogon.)
Marcos revealed Monday that 20% of the total P545 billion budget of flood control projects was awarded to only 15 contractors. Five of these 15 contracts, the President said, have projects in almost all regions nationwide.
One of these contractors is the Centerways Construction and Development, which Escudero said bagged P5.4 billion in flood control projects in Bicol Region and Central Visayas. He said this amount translated to 0.998% of the total contracts disclosed by Marcos.
Escudero affirmed that Lubiano is a friend of his and is also from Sorsogon, but denied that he had any links with the contractor's businesses.
He also emphasized that most of the contracts by Centerways were obtained before he became a senator again. Before seeking another term in the upper chamber, Escudero served as governor of Sorsogon from 2019 to 2022.
"Wala at hindi ko alam nga kung ano man 'yun dahil hindi ako bahagi ng kanyang kumpanya at wala akong pakialam sa kanyang negosyo," Escudero said when asked if he ever helped Lubiano when he came back to the Senate in 2022.
(I had nothing to do with it and I don't know what that is because I'm not part of his company and I don't care about his business.)
Escudero also questioned the "malicious and ill-timed" release of a report linking him with Lubiano.
Demolition job?
The Senate President alleged that those part of what he called a "demolition job" were those in favor of the impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte, particularly from the House of Representatives.
"Hindi principally kasamahan namin dito sa Senado. Sa pagkakaalam namin sa labas pero hindi ko alam kung may tumutulong, ka-kuntsaba, o kakumplot pero taga-labas," he said.
(The party behind this is not principally a colleague here in the Senate. As far as we know, s/he is from the outside, but I do not know if anyone is helping or is complicit from outside.)
"Obvious naman siguro 'yun kung sino ang may pinaka-gusto ng impeachment," he added.
(It's probably obvious who wants to push for the impeachment the most.)
In his last State of the Nation Address, the President vowed to ensure that those involved in anomalous flood control projects would be held accountable. — VDV, GMA Integrated News
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