Sen. Loren Legarda on Aug. 18 pushed back against the Office of the Ombudsman's characterization of her repeated medical leave extensions as "quite suspicious," insisting she had filed them properly under Senate rules even as the anti-graft office presses a graft and plunder investigation against her, her son, and a former Cabinet official over an alleged P10.4-billion ghost solar power scheme.
"Neither I nor anyone else deserves to be subjected to unfounded accusations over the exercise of one's legal rights. I have committed absolutely no wrongdoing," Legarda said in a statement.
A pattern of extensions
Assistant Ombudsman Mico Clavano told reporters he believed Legarda was already on her third or fourth extension of medical-related time off, calling it "quite suspicious." Senate records show Legarda filed for medical leave covering Aug. 3 to 5, then Aug. 11 to 12, and most recently Aug. 17 to 19. She has been absent from both regular Senate sessions and the ongoing Sara Duterte impeachment trial since Aug. 3, after leaving the Philippines with her son, Batangas Rep. Leandro Leviste, on Aug. 2 — traveling via Hong Kong with France as her stated final destination.
Legarda urged the public to be "discerning," particularly about "the timing and nature" of what she described as false allegations, and said she was confident "once the facts come out, we will be vindicated." She pointed to more than three decades of public service as evidence of her "dedication and integrity."
The underlying case
Legarda, Leviste, and former Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi are facing a preliminary investigation by the Office of the Ombudsman for graft and plunder tied to solar energy contracts. Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla has alleged that Legarda used her post on the Senate finance committee to help Leviste secure exclusive solar franchises that produced what investigators describe as "ghost electricity," leaving more than P10.44 billion in unpaid government obligations. Legarda has previously called the case "utterly false and baseless."
The senator's prolonged absence adds a new dimension to that dispute: it means she has also not been present to participate in the Senate's ongoing impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, one of the highest-profile proceedings in the current Congress. Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano has likewise been reported absent from recent trial sessions.
What remains unknown
Neither the Ombudsman's office nor Legarda's camp has released documentation of the medical basis for the leave extensions, and no formal charges have yet been filed against Legarda in the solar case — it remains at the preliminary investigation stage. The Ombudsman has not stated what action, if any, it intends to take regarding the travel pattern itself; Clavano's remarks characterized the timing as suspicious but stopped short of alleging any specific violation connected to the leaves.
Context
The solar power investigation was opened in early August, when the Ombudsman said it found evidence Legarda had used her committee position to benefit her son's company. It is one of several confidential-funds and procurement-related probes that have intensified against sitting senators and officials in 2026, alongside the ongoing impeachment trial and separate flood-control corruption cases before the Sandiganbayan. Legarda has not been convicted of any offense, and both she and Cusi deny wrongdoing.
Sources
- Philippine Daily Inquirer, "Legarda rejects Ombudsman's 'suspicious' remark on medical leave," by Isabelle Pechay, Aug. 18, 2026: https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/2287627/legarda-rejects-ombudsmans-suspicious-remark-on-medical-leave
- Philippine Daily Inquirer, "Cayetano, Legarda still absent from VP impeachment trial": https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/2286763/cayetano-legarda-still-absent-from-vp-trial