A WEEK AFTER Senator Loren Legarda and son Batangas Rep. Leandro Leviste quietly left the country, Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla issued a stern warning that their failure to return on or before the date they should be home could turn nasty.
During a press briefing, an extremely confident Remulla assured that Legarda and Leviste have no other choice but to return to the country.
“Babalik yan… babalik yan. Naniniwala kami na babalik,” the Ombudsman said, even as he hinted at consequences in the event that the mother and son decide not to come back to the Philippines.
“Baka gusto nilang umuwi na nakaposas pag hindi sila bumalik, hindi ba?” Remulla added.
Legarda and Leviste, who separately flew to Hong Kong on August 2, are under investigation by the Ombudsman in connection with plunder and graft complaints over alleged failure of his renewable energy firm to provide solar power as provided for under its congressional franchise.
According to National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Director Melvin Matibag, Legarda left the country with France as her final destination. Her son
Leviste meanwhile had at least 12 countries in his bucket list of places in Asia, America, and Europe to visit — Hong Kong, Singapore, Indonesia, Timor Leste, Spain, France, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Switzerland, Germany and the United States of America.
Meanwhile, Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian said he has not talked to Legarda about flying abroad, but noted that senators do not need to secure travel authority should it be a personal trip.
“I don’t have any information about her foreign trip. We did not talk about her trip. If it is a personal trip, they do not need a travel authority from the Senate,” Gatchalian told reporters.
In a statement, Legarda confirmed that she had gone on medical leave. Surged the public not to draw any conclusions from her leave.
“I confirm that I filed a formal medical leave with the Senate covering August 3 to 5, 2026, in accordance with Senate rules,” Legarda said in a Facebook post.
“I ask the public not to draw unwarranted conclusions from my travel or link it to the recent false and baseless allegations, which undeservedly besmirch a reputation that I have built over decades of public service,” she added.
Ahead of the Ombudsman probe, the Department of Energy (DOE) filed a complaint with the Department of Justice against Leviste and five officials of the Solar Para sa Bayan Corporation (SPBC) for alleged violations of the Public Service Act.
According to the complaint, the firm failed to construct and provide electric power to customers and end users in remote, unviable, unserved, or underserved areas as provided under the company’s 2019 franchise, which Congress granted under Republic Act 11357.
