Ethics complaint filed vs JV Ejercito for alleged neglect of duty

A lawyer has filed an ethics complaint against Senate Deputy Majority Leader JV Ejercito over gross neglect of constitutional duty for supposedly sitting on the complaint against Senator Francis "Chiz" Escudero in connection with the P30-million campaign donation he received in 2022 from a contractor.

Ejercito, who himself chairs the Senate Committee on Ethics and Privileges, confirmed to members of the media that he received the complaint filed by Atty. Marvin Aceron. 

In the complaint, Aceron argued that it has been over a hundred days since the complaint against Escudero was filed, yet up to now, Ejercito has supposedly not taken any action on the matter. 

“Despite the passage of 109 days since the filing of the ethics complaint against Sen. Escudero, respondent has failed to assign a case number, failed to provide any notice or communication, failed to take any action whatsoever,” the complaint against Ejercito read. 

“This failure is not mere negligence or administrative delay. After 109 days of complete inaction, it constitutes willful Gross Neglect of Constitutional Duty—a deliberate refusal to perform a mandatory duty,” it added. 

Ejercito, however, maintained that the ethics committee cannot hold hearings yet as it has not been constituted and its members have yet to be formally manifested and completed.

“On being named in the complaint, we recognize that everyone is entitled to their own opinion and has the right to raise concerns or seek appropriate remedies under the law. That is how democracy works. But I would also like to stress that we are a government of laws, and we will proceed in accordance with Senate rules and due process.” Ejercito said in a statement. 

He said that the ethics committee will convene and hear pending cases once it is fully constituted, and that cases will be heard in order of filing.

The complaint against Escudero was filed in October 2025 over the P30-million campaign donation he received in 2022 from contractor Lawrence Lubiano.

Lubiano, president of Centerways Construction and Development Inc., previously told a congressional inquiry that the donation came from his personal funds and not from the company.

He said Escudero also disclosed his donation and his name as a campaign donor in the senator's statement of contributions and expenditures.

Escudero had filed a manifestation explaining his side, saying that the donation was “legal, fully declared, and follows long-standing practice.” 

In November 2025, the Commission on Elections' Political Finance and Affairs Department (PFAD) cleared Escudero and Lubiano of the case, after finding that Lubiano and Centerways are distinct legal entities.

Section 95 of the Omnibus Election Code prohibits "natural and juridical persons who hold contracts or sub-contracts to supply the government or any of its divisions, subdivisions or instrumentalities, with goods or services or to perform construction or other works" from making political donations. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News