Batangas lawmakers have filed a House Resolution labelling the allegations of Batangas 1st District Rep. Leandro Leviste against Executive Secretary Ralph Recto and Governor Vilma Santos Recto during a plenary session on Tuesday as “irresponsible” and “malicious” in nature.

In the resolution led by 6th District Rep. Ryan Recto, the solons noted that Leviste had misused his legislative authority to air out unverified allegations through a privilege speech, claiming that the statements disregarded the integrity that the House of Representatives has built.

“These serious accusations, as described in the said speech, were advanced without any competent, verifiable, or documentary evidence, relying solely on anonymous and uncorroborated claims that fall far short of the standard of responsible public discourse,” the resolution stated.

The document further regarded the statements made by Leviste as “politically motivated” with an intent to harm the long-standing leadership and public service of Recto and Santos to citizens of Batangas.

“Parliamentary immunity is a fundamental and essential privilege but it should not be abused to put forth personal interests in the guise of public service,” it noted.

Aside from Recto, 2nd District Rep. Gerville Luistro, 3rd District Rep. George Collantes, 4th District Carlos Bolilia, and 5th District Rep. Rose Dimacuha signed the resolution.

Vote-buying allegations

During his speech at the House plenary session, Leviste alleged that Recto and Construction Workers Solidarity (CWS) Partylist Rep. Edwin Gardiola were involved in a widespread vote-buying scheme.

The solon claimed that Recto and Gardiola had invited him to endorse the Governor tandem of Vilma Santos and Luis “Lucky” Manzano during the 2025 national elections.

From there, he reportedly heard rumors that his leaders were being given cash in exchange for their support in the elections.

Leviste said that he estimates that Recto had spent at least P1 billion throughout the entire campaign period.

Solon Outrage

From the onset of the allegations, some solons raised concerns regarding the statement of Leviste claiming that spending billions during the campaign period was actually a nationwide practice.

Deeming the remarks as “offensive” in nature, Bicol Saro Rep. Terry Ridon moved to strike from the record the entire speech of the Batangas 1st District Representative.

His remarks were subsequently referred to the Committee on Rules following the motion from House Majority Leader Sandro Marcos to conduct further assessment into the allegations.