IT PAINS ME to call him Representative Leandro Leviste (Batangas) because he has shown not once, but more times, that like his mom, Sen. Loren, he would do anything to keep the name afloat in people’s minds, even if it meant finding fault in people and institutions so he becomes famous, politically.
First, he accused District Engineer Abelardo Calalo of the Department of Public Works and Highways of attempting to bribe him for P10 million, which is just partial payment. Calalo was arrested in an entrapment with supposedly marked money.
Calalo claimed the money was a donation instigated by Leandro for his mom’s project. He was arrested last August, for giving Leandro about $3.1 million cash to stop an investigation into DPWH probes on projects in Batangas. Leviste was widely hailed in social media for this.
Next, he accused a newly-appointed DPWH Undersecretary Arrey Perez (a trusted man of DPWH Sec. Vince Dizon) and other new appointees of having connections with contractors, though he has not named specific contractors.
He urged Dizon to disclose any such relationships to promote transparency, warning he would release evidence if the agency did not do so first. Dizon denied but admitted that some members of his team have had meetings with contractors outside the DPWH office but that these meetings were for work-related purposes and not for favors.
To spruce his image, Leviste claimed his main goal is to push for systemic reform in the DPWH and advocate for a 25% reduction in project costs to eliminate kickbacks.
Out of delicadeza (which Leviste and his mom lacks), Perez resigned (after only 18 days at DPWH) shortly after such accusations. In the end, Leviste ended up apologizing for his mistake. But this came too late, he had tarnished the image and dignity of another person.
‘The solar power law, thanks to his mom, catapulted his company to greatness but on his own, Leandro has much to prove … Perhaps, it would do him well to be more humble and not play hollier-than-thou with each of his thoughts, words and actions so that he would not look and sound like a greedy opportunist.’
DEFENDING REP. BARZAGA
Another character I find difficult to accept as a lawmaker is Rep. Francisco “Kiko” Barzaga, who was voted out with a 60-day suspension by a clear majority of the House of Representatives based on the findings of an ethics committee that heard his case for two months, the first hearing of which he snubbed because he slept late from an all-night video game.
On December 1, HoR voted 249 (approvals) – 5 (dissenters) to suspend Cavite’s 4th district Rep. Barzaga for 60 days without pay and allowances.
Leandro was among the five who dissented citing that Congress should be ashamed for acting on Barzaga’s case with haste while alleged corruption charges of CWS Rep. Edwin Gardiola remained unaddressed.
The statement worked emotionally, but the public record tells a different story, according to a Facebook post.
TIMELINE UNDERCUTS HIS PREMISE
On November 26, the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) formally submitted criminal and administrative charges against Rep. Gardiola to the Office of the Ombudsman, with submissions that included a) a 45-page report of around 1,300 DPWH projects worth P92 billion; b) documentation linking projects to lawmakers who own or control construction firms, and c) evidence that companies tied to Gardiola handled 211 projects worth P24.6 billion.
The Ombudsman accepted the findings for fact-finding and preliminary investigation and requested travel bans for dozens of officials tied to the flood control scheme.
Since August 2025, the Ombudsman had opened a probe into Gardiola’s construction dealings where investigative reports mapped out billions in contracts secured by firms linked to his family. House sources described recruitment attempts involving DPWH kickback arrangements.
Barzaga’s case was an internal ethics matter that required a House vote. Gardiola’s case was a criminal matter that required Ombudsman action. They do not overlap. They do not compete. And they do not cancel each other out.
Barzaga was suspended not as punishment for dissent as Levista claimed but for: 1) Lewd and degrading posts; 2) display of wealth; 3) statements that triggered complaints, and 4) conduct unbecoming of a legislator.
Barzaga’s official accounts included photos such as a woman’s thighs wrapped around his neck, which was condemned by the Philippine Commission on Women, he shared images of cash and luxury items which were careless just when the country is reeling from despair over massive systemic corruption; he posted remarks about the Batasan being set on fire, adding that documents and personnel should be evacuated. The CIDG filed a case of inciting to sedition and rebellion complaints based on these posts.
He snubbed his first ethics hearing; he vlogged during plenary sessions; he jumped on his seat shouting ambitions of becoming Speaker; he was dismissed from the army reserve months after joining.
Leviste claimed Barzaga’s suspension was done in “haste” because the committee report was circulated on the same afternoon as the vote. But the ethics complaint was filed on September 15, 2025 and the vote took place on December 1.
If the timing truly compromised due diligence, the remedy would have been a motion to defer the vote. He did not file one, a blogger posted.
The objection he raised relied on perception rather than the actual procedural options available.
HOW CLEAN IS LEVISTE?
Aside from being a younger son of Sen. Loren Legarda (a known political butterfly who shifts allegiances to stay in power, a reality that his elder son, Lorenzo, rebukes and hates), Leandro’s claim to fame, his solar power company only zoomed because of the strings that his mom pulled.
The solar power law, thanks to his mom, catapulted his company to greatness but on his own, Leandro has much to prove.
But for now, people see him as just a senator’s son, who benefitted from the machinations of his mother.
Perhaps, it would do him well to be more humble and not play hollier-than-thou with each of his thoughts, words and actions so that he would not look and sound like a greedy opportunist.
