Ombudsman: Plunder cases vs Legarda, Leviste filed soon

MANILA, Philippines — A plunder case against Sen. Loren Legarda and her son, Batangas Rep. Leandro Leviste, will be filed before the Sandiganbayan soon as the complaint undergoes preliminary investigation, Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla said.

“It’s coming soon,” Remulla said in a press briefing.

Ombudsman investigators have accused the mother and son of allegedly conspiring to secure exclusive government rights over the country’s solar energy resources through legislative and regulatory actions, resulting in about P10.4 billion in unpaid financial obligations to the government.

Remulla said the complaint against Legarda and Leviste is undergoing preliminary investigation before the Office of the Ombudsman.

Legarda’s camp earlier said it had filed a counter-affidavit in response to the complaint.

Remulla rejected the camp’s claim that the complaint was a case of political persecution, saying it was “far from that.”

“You can probably see the conflict-of-interest angle. We did not invent that. Everything will be recorded. The facts will be presented to the courts,” he said.

Both Legarda and Leviste are currently out of the country. The senator has been on medical leave since Aug. 3, while Leviste’s two-month travel authority expired on Sept. 24.