The Office of the Ombudsman has ordered a preliminary investigation into Sen. Loren Legarda, her son Batangas 1st District Rep. Leandro Leviste, and former Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi over allegations of plunder and graft connected to more than ₱10 billion worth of solar energy contracts that investigators say were never developed as promised. Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla announced the probe on July 31, according to multiple Philippine news outlets, saying the three "conspired to secure exclusive government rights over the country's solar energy resources through legislative and regulatory actions."
The case centers on Leviste's solar companies, chiefly Solar Para sa Bayan Corp. (SPBC), which was granted a 25-year legislative franchise in 2019 — when Leviste was 25 years old — to build and operate solar power facilities in unserved and underserved areas nationwide. According to the Ombudsman, more than 30 service contracts obtained by Leviste's network "created a virtual monopoly of solar energy projects," but many of the underlying projects were never built or completed. Remulla said the terminated contracts have left over ₱10.44 billion in unpaid financial obligations to the government.
"Ghost electricity"
"We've been hitting ghost projects, but this one is ghost electricity," Remulla said at a press conference, according to the Philippine Daily Inquirer. "They promised to produce electricity, they promised … to produce it using solar, but they did not do it." He added that the losses to the public extend well beyond the contract value: "The P10 billion is just in the contract, but the amount lost to us Filipinos is in the hundreds of billions."
Investigators allege Legarda's role was pivotal. As chair of the Senate committee on finance in 2019, when her son's company won its exclusive franchises, Remulla said Leviste "could not have obtained the exclusive contracts without the help of his mother… who used her position so her son could get franchises" — conduct the Ombudsman says violates the conflict-of-interest provisions of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act (Republic Act 3019). The complaints also cite the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials (RA 6713) and the Anti-Plunder Law (RA 7080), a non-bailable offense.
The Ombudsman's office said the fact-finding probe that led to the case began in January 2026 on Remulla's orders from the previous November. The preliminary investigation could lead to formal charges before the Sandiganbayan if probable cause is established.
Denials and pushback
Legarda rejected the allegations in a statement issued after Remulla's announcement. "I can categorically state that the reported accusations are utterly false and baseless. No public funds were involved. We are prepared to bring out the truth," she said, according to the Inquirer. "This baseless allegation is a smear on my person that is totally undeserved." She said she has "always upheld my integrity" since entering public life in 1998 and urged the public to be "discerning" about the timing of the case. Legarda has previously said she abstained "out of delicadeza" when the Senate and House ratified her son's franchise bill in June 2019. Leviste and Cusi had no immediate comment when the probe was announced.
The opposition Partido Demokratiko Pilipino (PDP), which counts Cusi as its newly elected chairman, denounced the case on August 2 as political persecution. PDP spokesman Ferdinand Topacio called it "an obvious attempt to weaken the legitimate Opposition" and accused Remulla of "taking orders from his patrons in the Palace," according to The Manila Times. The Ombudsman's office has not responded publicly to that characterization beyond its original statement laying out the allegations.
Context
The case is not the first regulatory trouble for Leviste's solar ventures. In February 2026, the Energy Regulatory Commission said SPBC could face up to ₱150 million in new penalties over allegedly illegal and excessive power charges. In May 2026, the Department of Energy filed a separate complaint against Leviste and SPBC directors before the Department of Justice for failing to meet franchise obligations, and in June 2026 the DOE filed a civil suit in Taguig to compel Leviste to pay ₱1.18 billion for an undelivered 120-megawatt project. The DOE previously imposed a ₱24-billion penalty against Solar Philippines Power Project Holdings Inc., a Leviste-owned corporation, for failing to deliver more than 11,000 megawatts of pledged renewable energy capacity. Anti-corruption watchdog Anti-Trapo Movement first raised constitutional objections to the Legarda-linked franchise back in 2018 and 2019, filing complaints with the Senate ethics committee and the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission that were eventually referred to the Ombudsman.
What remains unknown at this stage is whether the Ombudsman will find probable cause to formally indict Legarda, Leviste, and Cusi, and how the Senate — where Legarda continues to serve — will treat a sitting member facing a non-bailable plunder complaint. No court date has been set, as the matter remains in preliminary investigation.
Sources
- Philippine Daily Inquirer, "Legarda, son face Ombudsman probe; 'baseless,' she says" — https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/2275095/legarda-son-face-ombudsman-probe-baseless-she-says
- The Manila Times, "PDP-Laban blasts probe of Legarda, son" — https://www.manilatimes.net/2026/08/03/news/national/pdp-laban-blasts-probe-of-legarda-son/2396618
- Rappler, "Loren Legarda, Leandro Leviste face plunder, graft complaints over solar projects" — https://www.rappler.com/philippines/loren-legarda-leandro-leviste-plunder-graft-complaints-solar-projects/
- Philstar.com, "Ombudsman to seek plunder raps vs Leviste, Legarda over solar deals" — https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2026/07/31/2546062/ombudsman-seek-plunder-raps-vs-leviste-legarda-over-solar-deals
- GMA News Online, "Loren Legarda, Leandro Leviste under Ombudsman probe over alleged plunder, graft" — https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/topstories/nation/996883/loren-legarda-leandro-leviste-ombudman-plunder-graft/story/