Comelec subpoenas Escudero and Marcoleta donors over undisclosed P75M campaign contributions

The Commission on Elections on Thursday, June 4, 2026 issued subpoenas to four campaign donors connected to two sitting senators in the May 2025 polls. The summoned donors are Lawrence Lubiano, reported as a donor to former Senate President Francis "Chiz" Escudero, and three donors to Sen. Rodante Marcoleta: former Quezon City Representative Michael "Mike" Defensor (P30 million), Joseph Espiritu (P25 million), and Aristotle Viray (P20 million). The Comelec inquiry centers on contributions Comelec investigators say did not appear on the senators' Statements of Contributions and Expenditures. Donor non-reporting carries liability under Sections 98 and 100 of the Omnibus Election Code, and on Marcoleta's side feeds the parallel Office of the Ombudsman plunder and indirect bribery preliminary investigation against Marcoleta and Defensor. The Marcoleta donor amounts (P75 million combined) match the contribution dates of January 6, 8, and 9, 2026 already on the Ombudsman record under Comelec Chair George Erwin Garcia's June 1, 2026 transmittal. The Escudero track surfaces on the Comelec docket for the first time on the June 4 subpoenas; the Office of the Ombudsman has carried a separate flood control preliminary investigation against Escudero since May 21, 2026.