SC admits for review petition vs. Comelec ruling on Chiz campaign donation

The Supreme Court (SC) has admitted for review a petition seeking to nullify a Commission on Elections (Comelec) department ruling that cleared Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero in connection with a P30-million campaign donation from a contractor.

In a resolution dated February 18, the SC said it granted the motion for leave of court to file and admit petition for review that was filed by teacher Barry Tayam.

“Wala pa pong decision pero tinanggap po ng SC 'yung petition for review. So far masaya po ako kasi kahit papaano [tinanggap],” Tayam said in a statement.

(There is no decision yet, but the SC accepted the petition for review, so far I am happy because at least [it was accepted].)

GMA News Online contacted Escudero's office to get the senator's comments, but has yet to receive a reply as of posting time.

For his part, Comelec chairperson George Garcia welcomed the development.

“We wanted to have a jurisprudence on this matter,” he said.

To recall, Tayam asked the SC to review the recent ruling of the Comelec's Political Finance and Affairs Department (PFAD), which recommended the termination of the probe into Escudero and campaign donor Lawrence Lubiano, president of Centerways Construction and Development Inc.

The PFAD previously recommended terminating the investigation on Escudero and Lubiano, deeming that the contractor and his company are distinct legal entities. Escudero and Lubiano were not found to be in violation of the Omnibus Election Code, it said. —KG, GMA Integrated News