A MAYORAL candidate of Lian, Batangas yesterday asked the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to investigate the P215 million loan recently entered into by incumbent Mayor Joseph Peji with the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP), saying it was executed during the campaign period and may constitute an election offense because it potentially places the reelectionist mayor’s rivals at a disadvantage.
Zaldy de Layola, a former communications assistant secretary of the late former president Benigno Simeon Aquino III, said the Comelec should investigate the loan for the acquisition of a 1.5 hectare property in Barangay Bagong Pook and the construction of a three-storey municipal building with land development because it was allegedly undertaken within the election period.
“The P215 million loan agreement signed between the municipality of Lian and DBP within the election period on March 14, 2025 puts all Lian local candidates opposing the team of Mayor Peji in a serious disadvantage despite the latter’s good intentions, if there are any,” De Layola said in a statement.
In a separate letter to Elections chairman George Garcia, De Layola said: “The fact that this agreement was executed during the election period when the incumbent mayor is a candidate for reelection renders the transaction highly anomalous.”
De Layola said entering into financial obligations within the election period that may unduly influence the electorate or give local leaders undue advantage constitute an election offense under the Omnibus Election Code and other relevant Comelec resolutions.
“These restrictions exist to prevent undue influence on voters through the disbursement of public funds and to uphold the integrity of the electoral process,” he said.
He said the timing and scale of the project “raise justifiable concerns that the move is nothing less than politically motivated.”
“The use, or even the perception of the use, of public funds and development projects for electoral gain undermines the core principles of free, fair, and honest elections,” he stressed.
“Further, from a fiscal responsibility standpoint, committing over P200 million at this political sensitive time – without thorough public consultation or transparency – may severely compromise public trust and burden future administrations with obligations made in haste,” he added.
De Layola said he sought the poll body’s intervention to ensure that “election laws are upheld and that public funds are used in accordance with the principles of transparency, accountability, and public welfare – not political expediency.”
“The people of Lian, Batangas and all citizens in the country deserve assurance that their resources are being directed toward authentic development, not as instruments of electoral manipulation,” he said.
