Why not file single leave? Legarda asked
The fact that both mother and son are out of the country adds to the speculation or to the suspicion of the Office of the Ombudsman.
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The fact that both mother and son are out of the country adds to the speculation or to the suspicion of the Office of the Ombudsman.
Doubt continues to hound Senator Loren Legarda regarding her reported “serious illness,” which has led her to repeatedly extend her medical leave.
“Well, if she really had a serious illness, one would think she would have filed for a single medical leave rather than repeatedly extending it,” Assistant Ombudsman Mico Clavano said.
“That is the only reason the Office of the Ombudsman flagged the pattern,” he added.
Clavano said another thing the anti-graft body found “suspicious” was the discrepancy between the travel authority Legarda had filed, which specified a particular period, and its repeated extensions.
Moreover, her son, Batangas Rep. Leandro Leviste, also sought a nearly two-month travel authority, from 26 July to 24 September, to travel to various countries.
Both Legarda and Leviste are currently involved in a plunder and graft case under preliminary investigation at the Office of the Ombudsman, linked to the congressman’s solar power companies.
“The fact that both mother and son are out of the country adds to the speculation or to the suspicions of the Office of the Ombudsman,” Clavano said.
Doubling down, Clavano said the two had the burden of defending themselves against the allegations, underscoring how the issue has affected the public.
Leviste, with the supposed backing of his mother, Legarda, had obtained exclusive rights to develop solar power in the country. He, however, sold rights to projects which were never developed.
“The price of electricity rose because of the unfulfilled promises of the franchises, and a lot of the allocations for solar power were given to this company, and yet they did not do it,” Clavano said.
“So now, the public is feeling the struggle and the surge in electricity prices,” he added.
Given the circumstances and the issues being tackled, Clavano said he hoped the Ombudsman and the public would “have a say” when it came to Legarda and Leviste traveling out of the country.
He reiterated that officials had an obligation to clarify what happened to the billions allocated to the companies.
“It’s really very suspicious that they are there and we have a case here that they have to answer for. They needed to appear, and that was the time that they left the country,” he said.
Leave jibes with rules
In response to the accusations, Legarda from abroad said the claims that she violated any laws were baseless and were meant to “trample” on her “unblemished” record of public service.
She maintained that her medical leave was well within Senate rules and that she had committed no wrongdoing in availing of the privilege.
“Neither I nor anyone else deserves to be subjected to unfounded accusations over the exercise of one’s legal rights,” she said in a statement on 18 August.
Legarda urged the public to be more discerning, particularly the “timing and nature” of the allegations. She said she was confident the facts would ultimately clear her name.
“I remain confident that once the facts come out, we will be vindicated,” she said.
Leviste, meanwhile, has yet to issue an official response to the allegations.
