The probe into the solar firm linked to Batangas 1st District Rep. Leandro Leviste goes beyond alleged franchise violations and could have implications for the country’s energy outlook, Ombudsman Jesus Crispin “Boying” Remulla said.
Remulla said the investigation will also examine possible attempts to circumvent the law, anchored on the legal principle that “what you cannot do directly, you cannot do indirectly.”
“Our premise came from it that is why we said that it is being studied the case of Solar Philippines and its eventual selling of the spinoff company which is a subsidiary and intimately related to Solar Philippines. We have to look at it from that point of view,” Remulla said.
He added that creating a subsidiary to enable a transaction barred at the parent-company level could amount to circumvention.
“It’s common sense to all of us— should be common sense to all of us— na hindi dapat nangyayari iyan,” Remulla said, stressing that the issue is not limited to alleged franchise violations.
Remulla noted that when a firm is granted a franchise that is “more of a monopoly,” and the country’s energy plan is built around it, the Ombudsman has a duty to act if questions arise.
“The effect of this is very important and it is no joke. Imagine your energy mix being upset by a single company which acted more like a monopoly during that time,” he added.
The Ombudsman said he has yet to speak with Leviste, but the Office of the Ombudsman will formally reach out if grounds are found to question the lawmaker. He said he prefers official communication.
Earlier, Leviste sold his controlling stake in SP New Energy Corp. (SPNEC) to Meralco’s MGen Renewable Energy Inc. for P34 billion. SPNEC is a subsidiary of Leviste’s Solar Philippines.
During the previous administration, Leviste secured a 25-year franchise for Solar Para sa Bayan Corp. (SPBC), also under the Solar Philippines group, to operate solar-powered facilities in remote and underserved areas.
MGen has said it did not acquire shares in SPBC.
The Department of Energy earlier imposed a P24-billion penalty on Solar after it failed to deliver committed power output.
Leviste has linked the developments to his release of what he described as files from the late former undersecretary Maria Catalina Cabral, which he claimed showed the proponents of budget insertions in the Department of Public Works and Highways.