MANILA – The Office of the Ombudsman has initiated plunder and graft complaints against Senator Loren Legarda and Batangas 1st District Rep. Leandro Leviste over alleged irregularities involving exclusive solar energy service contracts.

Ombudsman Jesus Crispin “Boying” Remulla said on Friday that he signed the charge sheet for the conduct of a preliminary investigation, the process that precedes the possible filing of criminal cases in court.

Former Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi and several other individuals were also named as respondents.

In a statement, the Office of the Ombudsman alleged that investigators found Legarda, Leviste, and Cusi conspired to obtain exclusive government rights over the country’s solar energy resources through legislative and regulatory actions.

The complaints allege violations of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees, and the Plunder Law.

According to the Ombudsman, several exclusive solar energy service contracts were awarded to corporations allegedly linked to Leviste, but many of the projects were never developed as promised.

The Office of the Ombudsman also alleged that the number of service contracts awarded created a “virtual monopoly” over solar energy projects.

Remulla said the government estimates unpaid financial obligations arising from the terminated contracts at more than P10.44 billion.

“That P10 billion is only the contracts,” Remulla said. “What our fellow Filipinos lost runs into hundreds of billions.”

He alleged that the contracts gave Leviste’s company exclusive rights over the production and sale of solar energy, preventing other investors from participating.

“It is as if they own the sun, the power of the sun, to the exclusion of other Filipinos and other investors,” Remulla said.

“They promised they would produce electricity. It’s printed in the Philippine Energy Plan,” he added. “They didn’t do it. They just sold, they just made money. If they built anything, it was a pittance.”

Remulla also claimed that Legarda used her position as then chairperson of the Senate Committee on Finance to help her son secure the franchise.

“He wouldn’t have gotten it if his mother, the chair of the Senate finance committee, hadn’t helped him,” Remulla said. “She used her position so her son could get the franchise.”

The Ombudsman said the alleged failure to develop the projects resulted in the eventual sale of Leviste’s solar business while the government and the public suffered losses.

The Department of Energy earlier filed a complaint before the Department of Justice against Leviste and officials of Solar Para sa Bayan Corporation for alleged violations of the Public Service Act, citing the company’s alleged failure to provide electricity to remote, unserved, and underserved areas as required under its 2019 congressional franchise.

As of posting, Legarda and Leviste have yet to issue statements on the complaints.