00:00The Commission on Election has concluded its investigation on the issue of former Senate
00:04President Francis Escudero allegedly accepting a 30 million peso campaign donation during the
00:112022 elections from Lawrence Lubiano, the owner of Center Waste Construction, who is involved in
00:16anomalous flood control projects. This comes after Commonwealth Commissioner Ray Bulay upheld
00:22the recommendation of the Commonwealth's Political and Finance Affairs Department, or PFAD, to
00:28terminate the motu proprio investigation against Escudero. According to PFAD's resolution,
00:34they have found no sufficient evidence to implicate Escudero and Lubiano for violating Section 95C
00:41of the Anubus Election Code, where it strictly prohibits the donation of companies with
00:47government contracts to candidates to avoid a so-called conflict of interest. In the PFAD
00:53resolution, it appears the money Lubiano gave to Escudero's campaign came from his own pocket.
00:59Because of this, they said there is no basis to say that his donation came from the company's
01:04corporate funds. Meanwhile, the former Senate president welcomed the poll body's decision.
01:10In his statement, he pointed to his continued adherence to election laws, which he says is
01:15the foundation of public trust since he entered politics in 1998.
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