Court orders Leviste arrest

Batangas 1st District Rep. Leandro Leviste has been ordered arrested by the Makati City Regional Trial Court (RTC) for allegedly violating Commonwealth Act No. 146, or the Public Service Act.

National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) director Melvin Matibag confirmed Wednesday the agency received a copy of the arrest warrant issued by Makati RTC Branch 235 on 5 October.

“We confirm that the NBI has received the warrant of arrest for Congressman Leviste,” Matibag said in a television interview.

Presiding Judge Ricardo Aglugub Moldez II ordered law enforcement authorities to bring Leviste before the court “forthwith” and set bail at P72,000.

The Department of Justice (DoJ) confirmed Wednesday that an information was filed before the Makati RTC on 29 September against Leviste and Solar Para Sa Bayan Corp. (SPSBC) incorporators and corporate officers Hazel Iris P. Lafuente Buencamino and Irma C. Flaminiano.

DoJ spokesperson Raphael Martinez said the case stemmed from a finding of prima facie evidence with reasonable certainty of conviction against the respondents who “willfully neglected and intentionally failed to comply with its obligations under its legislative franchise.”

The respondents allegedly violated Section 25 of the Public Service Act in connection with SPSBC’s legislative franchise.

Leviste left the Philippines on 2 August and has yet to return.

Martinez said an accused must first submit to the court’s jurisdiction, either through arrest or voluntary surrender, before bail may be granted.

“If the accused is abroad, he would have to submit himself to the jurisdiction of the court before he may avail himself of bail,” he said.

The NBI is considering seeking an Interpol red notice against Leviste.

Matibag said he had instructed the NBI to coordinate with the Philippine Center for Transnational Crime (PCTC), which houses Interpol’s National Central Bureau-Manila, to determine whether the case qualifies for such a request.

“We are coordinating with the PCTC to determine if this is one of the criminal cases for which the option of requesting the issuance of a red notice is available,” Matibag said.

A red notice is not an international arrest warrant but a request to law enforcement agencies worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, surrender, or similar legal action.

Matibag also ordered coordination with the Bureau of Immigration regarding Leviste’s travel status and with the Department of Foreign Affairs and House of Representatives on possible action concerning his passport and congressional travel authority.

Martinez said it was too early to determine whether Leviste’s passport could be canceled, noting that the law provides specific grounds for cancellation.

The case stemmed from a DoE complaint filed with the DoJ in May accusing Leviste and other SPSBC officials of violating the Public Service Act by allegedly failing to comply with conditions under the company’s legislative franchise for solar power generation.

Meanwhile, Leviste’s two co-accused posted bail. Matibag confirmed that Buencamino and Flaminiano each posted a P72,000 cash bond.