The Office of the Ombudsman announced that it had filed cases of plunder and graft against Senator Loren Legarda and Batangas 1st District Rep. Leandro Leviste for preliminary investigation.

In a press conference on Friday, 31 July, Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla explained that the cases stemmed from the alleged anomalies when it came to Leviste securing exclusive rights when it came to his solar energy network.

Remulla stated that investigators alleged that Legarda, Leviste, and former Department of Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi had conspired to ensure that the congressman would ensure numerous exclusive government contracts–projects that would allegedly remain undeveloped.

“This is not something that was done unplanned, when you look at what happened with the Philippines' energy sector in the Philippines, we really suffered from what they did. While the world was transitioning to solar…here they took the exclusivity of solar power,” he said.

For investigators, the respondents had supposedly established a “virtual monopoly” through the contracts which were later found to have no indications of being completed.

According to Remulla, the total amount of financial obligations that remained unpaid to the government were around P10 billion.

It was likewise alleged that due to the lack of completion when it came to the development of the contracted renewable energy projects, the public were left paying for higher electricity costs because of the additional power generation.

While the Ombudsman had found probable cause, it stressed that the respondents of the complaint would be allowed the opportunity to explain and answer the allegations being pitted up against them.

Baseless accusations

Upon hearing the news of the development, Legarda promptly expressed her vehement denial of the accusations she viewed as baseless, stressing that no public funds were ever involved.

The senator further stated that she always ensured to maintain integrity since beginning her work as a public official in 1998, noting that the allegation was a “taint” on her personal reputation.

Legarda likewise urged the public to remain wary of the information that they hear publicly given the timing and nature of the allegations.

“We remain confident that once the facts are laid bare, we will be vindicated and our names cleared,” she said.

With the development, Legarda became the third member of the Senate that has been alleged to have committed the crime of plunder as Senator Jinggoy Estrada and Senator Rodante Marcoleta had earlier been filed with separate cases.

Since their arrest, both Estrada and Marcoleta have remained detained at the Quezon City Jail - Male Dormitory.

‘Congtractor’ probe

Aside from Leviste, the Ombudsman also announced that it had filed a case for conflict of interest for preliminary investigation against Construction Workers Solidarity Partylist Rep. Edwin Gardiola for malversation on various anomalous flood control projects in Bulacan.

Investigations into the scheme found that Gardiola had supposedly amassed P879 million through his construction companies that were awarded government contracts.

The Ombudsman said that the probe was first launched based on recommendations from the since dissolved Independent Commission for Infrastructure and the Department of Public Works and Highways.