Marcos and Duterte received millions in contributions from contractors. Can—and will—they be held to account?

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He gave P20 million to elect Marcos Jr.Another contractor, Jonathan M. Quirante, owner of Cebu-based Quirante Construction Corporation, donated just P1 million. After the election, both contractors benefited from a steep increase in the value of government contracts awarded to their firms. In 2022, Escandor’s Esdevco Realty Corporation was listed as the sole corporate donor of Sara Duterte in her 2022 vice presidential campaign. The congressional hearings held in the past two weeks revealed a system of large off-the-books payments and conflicts of interest in flood-control projects. But its ascent can largely be attributed to flood-control projects, which have increasingly dominated the firm’s contract portfolio in recent years.