Batangas solon drags Recto into flood-control scandal: Seeks probe into Malacañang links

Batangas solon drags Recto into flood-control scandal: Seeks probe into Malacañang links | Daily Tribune

Batangas Representative Leandro Leviste on Monday escalated his attack against Executive Secretary Ralph Recto, alleging the Palace official is tied to a lawmaker at the center of a multibillion‑peso public works controversy.

In a series of social media posts, Leviste claimed that Recto and CWS Partylist Representative Edwin Gardiola had personally invited him to become their “partner,” backing his assertion with photos of meetings that he said disproved claims that his earlier allegations were fabricated.

“I was offered by Secretary Ralph Recto and Congressman Edwin Gardiola to become their partner,” Leviste said in Filipino, adding that he would ask Congress for time to expose what he described as their “modus.”

He also alleged that the meeting included efforts to secure his support for a political campaign, and insisted that their relationship was closer than publicly acknowledged. “It seems others do not want to admit that Recto and Gardiola are close,” he said.

‘Investigate Malacañang links’

Leviste went further, calling for a congressional probe not only into Gardiola but also into Recto himself, raising the possibility of influence reaching the highest levels of government.

“I am calling on Congress to investigate Gardiola’s connections to Recto… President Bongbong Marcos should also look into whether anyone inside Malacañang is helping Gardiola,” he said.

The lawmaker claimed he became the target of “a series of attacks” after initiating an inquiry into Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) projects in Batangas and firms allegedly linked to Gardiola.

Billions under question

The controversy traces back to Leviste’s earlier disclosure of a document he said was sent by a whistleblower from the DPWH, listing projects allegedly associated with Gardiola from 2023 to 2025 amounting to roughly P22 billion.

During a January press briefing, Leviste said the document, titled “List of Edwin Gardiola’s DPWH Projects,” contained both a summary and a detailed breakdown of infrastructure allocations.

The summary included P500 million under 2023 Unprogrammed Appropriations (UA) and P8.86 billion under the 2024 National Expenditures Program (NEP). It also listed P1.396 billion from bicameral conference committee insertions and additional allocations under the Medical Assistance to Indigent Patients (MAIP) and later budgets through 2025.

Leviste said the file was sent to him by a “lowly ranked” DPWH staff member whom he had not met personally, and acknowledged that he could not independently verify the document’s authenticity. However, he noted that many of the listed projects appeared to match actual entries in DPWH records and the agency’s transparency portal.

“I cannot verify the authenticity of this file… but we checked this against our other files and… almost all of them are real projects,” he said.

He raised two key issues from the document: first, whether DPWH has the capability to identify specific lawmakers as proponents of infrastructure projects — particularly those allegedly inserted during the bicameral process — and second, why such information had not surfaced earlier to aid investigations or support the filing of cases before oversight bodies such as the Office of the Ombudsman.

Leviste also questioned why other personalities were prioritized in ongoing probes into flood control and infrastructure anomalies, despite the document being dated as early as 28 August 2025, suggesting that relevant information may have already been available to authorities at that time.

Scandal pushed to the sidelines

His latest broadside comes as the flood-control and public-works scandal, which dominated headlines and yearend corruption roundups in 2025, has been overshadowed by newer political controversies and big-ticket policy debates.

Good governance advocates have repeatedly warned since last year that, despite earlier exposés pointing to billions in suspect flood-control allocations and alleged “ghost” projects, the push for accountability risks being drowned out as public attention shifts to fresh crises.

Leviste’s accusations against Recto and Gardiola effectively pull the issue back into the spotlight and raise the stakes inside Malacañang.

Despite the gravity of the allegations, no formal investigation has been publicly announced by Congress, the Senate, or the Office of the Ombudsman. The absence of swift action has raised questions in political circles on whether entrenched relationships and influence may be slowing accountability, particularly as Gardiola is widely seen to have strong ties within Batangas and connections to key figures in government.

Oath-taking photos resurface

Amid the escalating word war, Recto on Monday posted photos on his social media account showing himself with Leviste and Sen. Loren Legarda, but without any caption or explanation.

The images appear to have been taken during Leviste’s ceremonial oath-taking as congressman, which Recto administered when he was still finance secretary. The photos have since circulated online amid the ongoing dispute, with both camps pointing to them to support their respective narratives.

Deepening political rift

The public feud between Leviste and Gardiola has intensified in recent months, with the former accusing the latter of “pre-ordering” billions worth of projects allegedly funneled to companies linked to him — claims Gardiola has denied.

Recto, a fellow Batangueño with longstanding political influence in the province, has now been drawn directly into the controversy.

Leviste’s latest allegations sharpen scrutiny on possible links between lawmakers, contractors, and top executive officials, fueling calls for transparency in infrastructure spending and political accountability.

Recto has yet to directly address Leviste’s claims. As of press time, Malacañang has remained silent on the issue.