Legarda camp tells Ombudsman: Plunder, graft raps won't prosper in court even under next admin

The camp of Senator Loren Legarda urged Ombudsman Boying Remulla on Monday to stop wasting public resources by pursuing plunder and graft charges against her and her son, Batangas Rep. Leandro Leviste, that have “zero merit” and are unlikely to prosper in court.

Speaking over ANC’s Headstart, Atty. Tony La Viña—Legarda’s spokesperson—doubled down on his claims that the criminal cases are purely politically motivated, aimed at “silencing” Leviste from criticizing the administration of President Marcos Jr. over alleged corruption in flood control projects and in the House of Representatives.

“I actually like the flood control cases… I admire [Ombudsman Remulla]. I supported his bid for the Ombudsman position because it was necessary. However, I hope [he] doesn’t waste prosecution's resources [on] cases that will not prosper,” La Viña said partly in Filipino. “This is a weaponization of the law for political purposes. It’s really to silence Leandro.”

La Viña remarked that the Ombudsman probe was intended solely to target Leviste and that Legarda was only dragged into the controversy by refusing to reprimand her son for publicly speaking out against the purported anomalies plaguing the government.

Legarda and Leviste are subject to the Ombudsman’s ongoing preliminary investigation in connection with P10.44-billion in alleged irregularities and uncompleted solar energy projects involving Solar Para sa Bayan and Solar Philippines Power Project Holdings Inc., which were previously owned by Leviste before joining politics in 2025.

Solar Para sa Bayan is facing a parallel complaint from the Department of Energy over purported failure to fulfill obligations under a congressional franchise for renewable energy microgrids.

The Ombudsman alleged that Legarda took advantage of her role as the former chair of the Senate finance committee to help her son obtain multi-billion-peso exclusive government contracts over the country’s solar energy resources through legislative and regulatory actions.

Also accused of involvement in the alleged conspiracy is former Department of Energy secretary Alfonso Cusi.

The case alleged that Leviste’s solar power firms failed to deliver electricity as promised under government-backed agreements, resulting in unpaid obligations totaling over P10 billion.

However, La Viña contended that there is “no evidence” that Legarda used her political influence to help her son secure contracts and franchises for his solar firms from the government.

He said Legarda also had no business connection with Leviste, other than being a mother to the lawmaker, who is a vocal critic of the administration and its alleged corruption in flood control projects.

He also pushed back against allegations calling the supposed scheme the Legarda-Leviste Solar Empire, deriding it as “malicious” and “ridiculous” because Legarda was not a businesswoman at the time but a legislator.

La Viña disputed allegations that Leviste established a “monopoly” in the sector, as his solar firms held only a small fraction of roughly 2 to 5 percent of renewable energy service contracts, making the claim of a "solar empire" or monopoly inaccurate.

Why plunder?

La Viña questioned the logic behind the filing of plunder charges, arguing that the accusations do not meet the legal grounds for such charges, as there is no evidence of corruption or government funding involved in the solar contracts awarded to Leviste’s firms.

“The government did not shell out any amount in all of Leandro’s contracts,” he stressed.

“There's no fire, no smoke here. It's just synthetic…This is political. There are no criminal acts that are being alleged here,” he pointed out.

La Viña asserted that the pending corruption cases against Legarda and Leviste are futile and have no chance of success. Furthermore, he believed that there is “no way these cases will prosper” in court even as the administration changes in 2028.

Legarda and Levista have already filed their counter-affidavit with the Ombudsman in connection with the graft and plunder probe.

The mother and son have been abroad since early August, though La Viña claimed they are not in hiding.

Remulla has questioned the timing of their departure, which came days after he announced that they are under probe for possible graft and plunder charges.

The Ombudsman is scheduled to fly to France to coordinate with international authorities on matters concerning politicians seeking asylum there.

Legarda and Leviste are reportedly staying in France, where former lawmaker Elizaldy Co is allegedly hiding amid multiple warrants from Sandiganbayan stemming from his alleged involvement in anomalous flood control projects.