Palace: Marcos willing to be probed over reported contributions from contractors

President Ferdinand ''Bongbong'' Marcos Jr. is willing to be investigated in relation to the contributions he reportedly received from contractors during he 2022 presidential polls, Malacañang said Monday.

Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Atty. Claire Castro said the Commission on Elections should be allowed to do its duty on the matter. 

''The President is willing to be investigated,'' she said. 

''Let the Comelec do its job, investigate,'' Castro said. 

An earlier report from the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism stated that Marcos and Vice President Sara Duterte had allegedly received tens of millions of pesos in campaign contributions from public works contractors despite a provision in the Omnibus Election Code which prohibits those seeking public office from accepting contributions from entities that do business with the government.

The report indicated that in the last three years, these contractor-contributors had a significant rise in the value of public-works contracts awarded to them. 

The PCIJ report said that data from the statement of campaign contributions submitted by candidates to the Commission on Elections showed that tycoon Rodulfo Hilot Jr., who owns Zamboanga del Sur-based Rudhil Construction & Enterprises Inc., was one of the president’s largest contributors during the 2022 election cycle, giving P20 million. 

Meanwhile, Jonathan Quirante, owner of Cebu-based Quirante Construction Corporation, donated P1 million to elect Marcos. — Anna Felicia Bajo/RSJ, GMA Integrated News