The Office of the Ombudsman on Friday announced a preliminary investigation for alleged plunder and graft involving Batangas Rep. Leandro Legarda Leviste and Sen. Loren Legarda over solar projects accused of obtaining government rights and commitments without delivering the promised electricity.
Ombudsman Boying Remulla described the undelivered power output as “ghost electricity,” referring to generating capacity committed under the projects but never supplied to the power grid.
The investigation covers companies founded or previously controlled by Leviste, including Solar Philippines Power Project Holdings Inc. and Solar Para sa Bayan Corp. The Department of Energy had earlier cancelled dozens of renewable energy contracts linked to Solar Philippines after the projects failed to meet mandatory development milestones. Those terminated contracts represented more than 11,000 megawatts of proposed generating capacity.
Solar Para sa Bayan obtained a 25-year congressional franchise in 2019 to bring electricity to remote and underserved areas. The Ombudsman is investigating whether ownership or controlling interests connected to the franchise were transferred without congressional approval.
Remulla earlier described the questioned transaction as “franchise flipping,” raising concerns that a state-granted franchise had been transferred through a private commercial transaction. The Department of Energy has also filed a complaint against Leviste and five company executives over the alleged failure to operate under the franchise and provide the renewable energy they had committed to deliver.
Leviste denied personally benefiting from the sale of the legislative franchise. He said Solar Para sa Bayan had already ceased operations and that its franchise had effectively been revoked before the disputed transactions took place.
In addition to Leviste and Legarda, former Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi will also undergo the preliminary investigation.
