Leviste welcomes solar franchise probe, issues challenge to solons

MANILA, Philippines — News of a looming congressional probe into the franchise of solar firms linked to him is good news, Batangas Rep. Leandro Legarda Leviste said on Monday.

In a message to INQUIRER and other reporters on Monday, Leviste said the hearing of the House of Representatives committee on legislative franchises will be an opportunity for him to correct the alleged wrong information against his business.

However, the lawmaker has also dared members of the House to disclose their “assets and campaign donors.”

“That’s good news.  I look forward to take the opportunity to: (1) Correct the false information on social media about my business, and (2) Call for all members of Congress to disclose their assets and campaign donors, declared and undeclared, so we can comprehensively dissect any of their conflicts of interest related to DPWH or beyond, including any of their links to DPWH contractors and how they may be affected by my ongoing investigations into DPWH projects,” he said.

“I am 100 percent for transparency and accountability,” he added.

Leviste’s statement came after Negros Occidental Rep. Jeffrey Ferrer said that the committee on legislative franchises will start their investigation on the franchise issues faced by Solar Para sa Bayan Corp. (SPBC) once the committee on rules gives the go signal.

READ: House panel to probe issues with Leviste’s solar startup franchise

SPBC is the company founded by Leviste, son of Senator Loren Legarda and former Batangas Governor Antonio Leviste, in 2013 as part of the Solar Philippines group.

Ferrer relayed that the decision to check SPBC’s franchise was made after Philreca party-list Rep. Presley de Jesus made a motion to conduct a motu proprio investigation, which was eventually approved by the panel.

Discussions about SPBC’s franchise came to light again after Leviste made several claims regarding the infrastructure corruption, including allegations that some companies owned by lawmakers benefit from contracts, and that he has documents which can be starting points for investigations.

In the process, however, several observers questioned Leviste’s credibility as his own issues were unearthed, prompting the government to check concerns related to regulatory compliance and the failure to meet production commitments.

SPBC got a 25-year franchise in 2019, but it was hit by several lawmakers and critics who warned that it would harm small, mini, and microgrids in the country.

According to them, Republic Act No. 11357 created an undue competitive advantage for SPBC, to the detriment of other renewable energy firms.

EXPLAINER: Why Leandro Leviste’s energy firms are under fire

Then early this January, it was reported that the Department of Energy (DOE) has issued a P24 billion penalty to Leviste’s Solar Philippines Power Project Holdings Inc. (SPPHI).  Energy Secretary Sharon Garin explained that the DOE has terminated 163 projects awarded to various companies for their failure to follow the timeline agreed upon for power production.

Garin said more than half of those projects, or 64 percent, were handled by SPPHI, the company founded by Leviste in 2013 when he was 20 years old.

READ: Leviste’s solar energy firm slapped with P24-B fine

After this, Lanao del Sur Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong said the franchise controversy involving Leviste’s firms should be investigated, claiming that it is no different from a “ghost” project.

READ: Leviste sees move to gag him; Garin cites his firm’s ‘2%’ output

Leviste however believes that the issues against him — including the P24-billion fine — are merely part of attempts to silence him after his several statements regarding the files supposedly handled before by late Public Works Undersecretary Maria Catalina Cabral 

Garin shot down these speculations, noting that SPPHI had a history of underperforming on its targets.  Apart from the fines, the DOE also canceled idled contracts with SPPHI including 33 secured under the Green Energy Auction Program and some agreements outside GEPA between 2014 and 2019. /jpv