Batangas Gov. Vilma Santos condemns bribe attempt on Leviste

Batangas Gov. Vilma Santos-Recto has strongly condemned the alleged attempt of a Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) district engineer to bribe Rep. Leandro Leviste in exchange for dropping his probe into questionable flood-control projects. Photo from Facebook page

LUCENA CITY—Batangas Gov. Vilma Santos-Recto has strongly condemned the alleged attempt of a Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) district engineer to bribe Rep. Leandro Leviste in exchange for dropping his probe into questionable flood-control projects.

“This brazen act reflects a seeming culture of impunity that may have been tolerated in the past. If this has been the practice in previous administrations, let it be known that under my leadership, such a system will find no refuge here in Batangas,” Santos-Recto said in a statement posted Tuesday on the provincial Public Information Office (PIO) Facebook page.

The governor underscored that “corruption has no place in Batangas” and insisted that “every peso of public funds must go to projects that serve our people, not into the pockets of the corrupt.”

She also commended Leviste “for standing firm and choosing integrity.”

Earlier that day, Leviste filed a complaint before the Batangas Provincial Prosecutor’s Office against Abelardo Calalo, DPWH district engineer for Batangas’ first district.

READ: Leviste: DPWH engineer tried to act as middleman for contractors

The lawmaker accused Calalo of direct bribery, corruption of public officials, and violations of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act as well as the Code of Conduct for Public Officials.

On Aug. 22, Leviste reported to authorities that Calalo had attempted to bribe him to stop his investigation into alleged anomalies in DPWH projects within the district.

Police operatives launched an entrapment operation at Leviste’s office in Taal town, which led to Calalo’s arrest. Officers recovered a light green bag containing P3,126,900.

According to Leviste, the money came from a contractor who had won three projects amounting to P104 million. The seized cash represented roughly 3 percent of the total contract value.

But Leviste emphasized that the issue went beyond the P3.1-million payoff. He revealed that contractors in the district allegedly set aside over P300 million annually as “SOP”—a code for kickbacks—for whoever occupies the congressional seat.

The lawmaker added that contractors and other individuals would also be named as respondents in the criminal complaint filed against Calalo./coa