Contractors who gave millions to Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Vice President Sara Duterte’s 2022 campaigns later saw their government flood-control contracts balloon to billions of pesos, a Philippine Centre for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) report has revealed.
The PCIJ analysis of campaign finance records and public-works contracts showed that tycoons Rodulfo D. Hilot Jr. of Rudhil Construction and Jonathan M. Quirante of Quirante Construction were among the biggest donors to Marcos Jr.’s 2022 campaign, while Davao businessman Glenn Escandor’s Esdevco Realty backed Duterte’s vice-presidential bid.
Within a year of the election, the value of government flood-control and infrastructure projects awarded to their firms surged by billions of pesos.
Top officials in the hot seat
Amid mounting public outrage over the children of the country’s top flood-control contractors and their lavish lifestyles, tensions have escalated to the point where public works officials have been dismissed from their posts.
Congress has also faced leadership changes, when House Speaker Martin Romualdez, the president’s cousin, resigned after questions arose about hundreds of millions of pesos in infrastructure projects “inserted” into the national budget under his leadership.
Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero has also lost his position.
And now, two of the most powerful government officials in the country are themselves under scrutiny after receiving millions in campaign donations from some of the same contractors whose public-works projects are at the centre of the ongoing controversy.
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Billions in flood-control contracts
Based on the Statements of Contributions and Expenses (SOCE) filed by candidates to the Commission on Elections (Comelec), Marcos received PHP20 million (US$350,216) from tycoon Rodulfo D. Hilot Jr., who owns Rudhil Construction & Enterprises Inc., based in Zamboanga.
The company deals with multipurpose buildings, roads, bridges and flood-control structures, the PCIJ report said.
The non-government organisation’s research revealed a notable increase in their contracts: from PHP2.7 billion (US$47.2 million) in 2023 to PHP3.5 billion (US$61.2 million) in 2024.
Another of the president’s donors, Quirante Construction Corporation, owned by Cebu-based contractor Jonathan M. Quirante, also saw its government projects balloon after the 2022 elections.
From PHP1.9 billion (US$33.2 million) in contracts in 2022, the firm’s awards jumped to PHP3 billion (US$52.5 million) in 2023 and have already reached PHP3.8 billion (US$66.5 million) in just the first eight months of 2025, with the bulk of the projects involving flood-control infrastructure across Cebu.
Vice President Sara Duterte likewise benefitted from corporate support tied to public-works spending.
Her sole corporate donor, Esdevco Realty Corporation, owned by construction magnate Glenn Escandor, financed PHP19.9 million (US$348,465) worth of advertising for her 2022 campaign.
Escandor’s other firm, Genesis88 Construction Inc., has since become the top flood-control contractor in Davao del Sur, with projects totalling PHP2.9 billion (US$50.7 million) marked “completed” during the first half of Marcos’s term, from July 2022 to May 2025.
The Omnibus Election Code
Under the Omnibus Election Code, candidates are prohibited from accepting contributions from individuals or corporations that hold government contracts.
The law also bars those seeking public office from receiving donations from entities granted “incentives, exemptions, allocations or similar privileges or concessions” by the government.
It is a safeguard meant to prevent conflicts of interest and undue influence over public spending.
The Comelec has also launched an investigation into Escudero’s ties to Lawrence Lubiano, president of the Sorsogon-based Centerways Construction and Development Inc., one of the country’s top flood-control contractors, after Escudero admitted to receiving a PHP30-million (US$525,324) campaign contribution from the firm.
Due to the controversy, Comelec Chairman George Garcia stated that the election watchdog had been “re-energised” to probe the “contractor donors,” citing a “lack of personnel” as the reason for struggling to do so before, according to PCIJ.
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Protests, backlash from the public
The PCIJ has also named six senators: Francis Escudero, Joel Villanueva, Sherwin Gatchalian, Loren Legarda, Robin Padilla and Miguel Zubiri, who all received contributions from individuals or entities linked to companies with government contracts.
Against this backdrop of alleged corruption cases and flood-control scandals, public anger has boiled over.
On September 21, the anniversary of Marcos Sr.’s Martial Law, thousands of protesters took to the streets to denounce government corruption and to demand accountability.
The controversy centred on the so-called “ghost projects” for infrastructures, wherein an estimated US$2 billion between 2023 and 2025 was siphoned off, according to the Department of Finance.
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