SENATORIAL candidate, Larry Gadon, blasted the critics of leading presidential candidate, former Sen. Ferdinand ‘Bongbong/BBM’ Marcos Jr., including retired poll commissioner, Rowena Guanzon, for practicing double standard of justice by trying to oust Marcos from the presidential contest while they remain mum over an election complaint against Vice President Leni Robredo alleging she accepted foreign donations—strictly barred by Philippine laws and the Constitution—when she ran for Congress in 2013.
“Why made a big fuss on the delay on the release of the decision in the case of BBM when the disqualification (case) versus Robredo for soliciting and accepting campaign funds from foreigners still has no decision despite being filed in 2013,” Gadon asked in a statement on February 2, 2022.
“Nine years have passed and still no decision,” he pointed out further.
The outspoken lawyer was referring to the complaint filed before the Comelec on May 23, 2013 or right after the 2013 midterm polls, by Nelly Villafuerte.
She is the wife of then outgoing Camarines Sur third district representative, Luis Villafuerte, whom Robredo bested at the polls.
Robredo, the Villafuertes charged, was guilty of violating Section 96 of the Omnibus Election Code (OEC) when she solicited, accepted—and even acknowledged the receipt—of campaign donations from foreigners.
Not surprisingly, the news, despite its importance, was not given much coverage by the mainstream media, majority of which are at the time biased towards the ruling Liberal Party and the Aquino administration where Robredo is also a leading figure in place of her late husband, former interior and local government secretary, Jesse Robredo.
But based on details of the complaint that somehow managed to surface because of independent media reporting, Robredo solicited—and received– campaign donations from at least seven American nationals and three American entities.
As proof, the receipt of the donations from the foreign individuals and entities have been acknowledged by Robredo herself in her Facebook account, Nelly stated in her complaint.
Section 96 of the OEC states that, “It shall be unlawful for any person including a political party or public or private entity to solicit or receive, directly or indirectly, any aid or contribution of whatever form or nature from any foreign national, government or entity for purposes of influencing the results of the elections.”
Reporter Charlie Manalo of the Daily Tribune, at the time covering Congress, further stated in the story that he filed that despite being aware of the prohibition and citing the complaint of Villafuete, wrote that “Robredo initiated the solicitation of donations from foreign nationals and entities with an open letter last February 1 (2013) at the behest of Loida N. Lewis, an American citizen.”
“Had the Comelec filed the case in court against Robredo and had the court found Robredo guilty, she would have been disqualified from holding public office and could have also served jail time,” Gadon added.
Lewis is a known Fil-American supporter of the LP and the Aquino administration in the US.
In her open letter, Robredo said all donations for her campaign can be coursed thru Lewis.
The complainant further averred that Robredo acknowledged the receipt of the foreign donations in her website, http://lenirobredo.ph/0630/, listing the names of the foreign individuals and entities who contributed to her campaign fund (Manalo in a follow-up article disclosed that Robredo’s website has been deactivated).
Other natural-born Americans or naturalized Americans who contributed to Robredo’s campaign include Dr. Edward Seidel, a natural-born American married to a Filipina, Lorna, who has also acquired her US citizenship; lawyer Rodel Rodis, the first Filipino-American to win an elective post in the US, Robert Federigan; Robert Heiberger; Rainier Asprer; and Richard Sublett.
Villafuerte also listed at least three foreign entities which contributed to Robredo’s campaign, namely: The Unlimited Agency, Inc., which was registered as corporation on March 17, 1994 with registration no. 57729554 in the state of Illinois, USA;
The Bicol USA of the Midwest, which was registered as a corporation in the State of Illinois, USA on February 11, 2011, with registration no. 67779959; and Fundrazr, an online website used to raise funds from anonymous donors abroad.
Fundrazr, is reportedly the flagship product of a company called Connection Point Systems, a privately-owned and funded Canadian company.
Given the facts cited, Villafuerte stressed in her complaint that “there is probable cause to indict defendant Ma. Leonor G. Robredo aka Leni Robredo for the election offense prescribed in Sec. 96 of the OEC in relation to Sec. 262, Sec. 264 and Sec. 68 (d) of the OEC.”
“…The financial contribution to the political campaign of the defendant from foreign sources mentioned above is indictable as an election offense,” Villafuerte’s complaint pointed out.
In 2016, right after the contested vice-presidential election, Manalo, in separate article, wrote that Luis Villafuerte also sued Robredo before the Comelec for “untruthful reporting of campaign contributions” related to the case his wife filed three years earlier.
Up to this time however, Gadon noted there has been no report if the Comelec bothered to file any criminal information against Robredo before any court.
“Sa mga reklamo laban kay BBM, kahit nuisance complaint may aksyon ang Comelec at ang daming ‘nag-iingay;’ dito kay Robredo na garapal ang paglabag sa ating election laws, tahimik lang sila.
“Si BBM, dumaan sa proseso, hinarap ang kaso, nagmulta; itong kay Robredo mas mabigat ang akusasyon, inupuan na, itinago pa sa taong bayan nang nakaraang administrasyon.
“Malinaw ang double standard at selective administration of justice,” Gadon added.
“Had the Comelec filed the case in court against Robredo and had the court found Robredo guilty, she would have been disqualified from holding public office and could have also served jail time,” Gadon added.
Section 262 of the OEC states that violation of Section 96 of the Code shall constitute an election offence and under Section 264, “any person found guilty of any election offense under this Code shall be punished with imprisonment of not less than one year but not more than six years and shall not be subject to probation.”
“In addition, the guilty party shall be sentenced to suffer disqualification to hold public office and deprivation of the right to suffrage,” the law further states.
At the same time, Section 68 (d) of the OEC provides further, “if declared by final decision of a competent court guilty or found by the Comelec to have solicited or received contributions prohibited under said Section 96 of the OEC shall be disqualified from continuing as a candidate, or if he has been elected, from holding public office. “