Batangas 1st District Rep. Leandro Leviste was hit with scrutiny from his fellow lawmakers after his privilege speech concerning the alleged corruption of Executive Secretary Ralph Recto and Constructions Workers Solidarity (CWS) Partylist Rep. Edwin Gardiola spiraled into a tirade over vote-buying in the country.
Leviste took the stand at the House plenary session this Tuesday in response to Recto calling him crazy in one of his Facebook posts concerning the latter’s alleged unlawful practices.
There, the solon alleged that Batangas Governor Vilma Santos-Recto, Vice Governor aspirant Luis “Lucky” Manzano, and other politicians received P1 billion from Gardiola for their respective campaigns.
“Sa aking tansya, at pananaliksik, mahigit P1 billion ang ginastos ni congressman Edwin Gardiola para kay Vilma Santos, at Lucky Manzano, sa iba pa nilang kandidato, at sa sarili niya bilang first nominee ng CWS Partylist sa 2025 elections,” he said.
Adding on to his accusations, Leviste recounted a time when he was invited by the CWS representative to endorse the Santos and Manzano duo within his district.
After the supposed meeting, he claimed to have received reports from his leaders that cash had been given out in exchange for support.
The solon further disclosed that Recto and Gardiola had invited him to participate in a supposed long-time scheme of collecting campaign funds from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) District Office in Batangas.
Baseless
Amid the heavy allegations, Assistant House Majority Leader Ryan Recto sought to clear his father’s name while asserting that the relationship between Recto and Gardiola was professional in nature.
The younger Recto expressed that the plenary should not be used for spreading allegations that had no clear evidence and were purely based on rumors.
“I believe that it is equally important that information shared in this plenary is accurately based on facts, not assumptions, not insinuations, and certainly not on incomplete information,” he said.
Iloilo 1st District Rep. Janette Garin, on the other hand, questioned the amount that was supposedly spent in the campaigns of politicians from Batangas.
To that, Leviste noted that spending billions on elections was not necessarily a distinct practice in their province and that it was actually a nationwide issue.
Stricken from the record
This sentiment raised more uproar on the part of lawmakers present during the session, noting that the presumption was offensive.
As such, Bicol Saro Rep. Terry Ridon moved to strike from the record the entirety of Leviste’s speech.
Garin, subsequently, urged Ridon to amend his motion to omit only the manifestations of Leviste that had no clear basis.
House Majority Leader Sandro Marcos would also move to refer the privilege speech of the Batangas 1st District Representative to the Committee on Rules for further assessment.