Camille Naredo

1st District of Batangas Rep. Leandro Leviste and Presidential Communications Office Usec. Claire Castro. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News; Revoli Cortez, PPA Pool


Article (news)

CASTRO-LEVISTE

Vivienne Gulla

ABS-CBN News

<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1769847963995CASTRO-LEVISTE.jpg" style="width:960px;display:block;height:auto" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="1st District of Batangas Rep. Leandro Leviste and Presidential Communications Office Usec. Claire Castro. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News; Revoli Cortez, PPA Pool" width="960"/>1st District of Batangas Rep. Leandro Leviste and Presidential Communications Office Usec. Claire Castro. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News; Revoli Cortez, PPA Pool</div>MANILA -- A Regional Trial Court in Balayan, Batangas has ordered the issuance of summons in the civil libel case filed by Batangas 1st District Representative Leandro Leviste against Presidential Communications Office Undersecretary Claire Castro. Leviste&#x27;s office on Saturday shared to the media a copy of the Branch 11 Balayan, Batangas RTC order, which states that Leviste&#x27;s case was raffled to the said court on January 28, 2026 and that &quot;the court gives due course to the complaint.&quot;&quot;The Branch Clerk of Court is ordered to issue Summons in accordance with existing rules,&quot; the court order said. &quot;Plaintiff&#x27;s counsel is directed to submit a Notice of Appearance in compliance with Rule 13-A of the Amended Rules of Court,&quot; it added. The complaint stemmed from Castro&#x27;s statements on a solar energy company Leviste founded.<div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/1/16/leviste-files-libel-complaint-vs-palace-s-castro-1004">READ: Leviste files libel complaint vs Palace&#x27;s Castro</a></div>Leviste tagged as &quot;untrue, reckless, and malicious&quot; Castro&#x27;s claims on her vlog that he sold a company holding a government franchise, and Castro&#x27;s alleged insinuation that the lawmaker &quot;flipped&quot; the franchise without the required Congressional approval. Leviste asserted that the company he sold has no franchise.He is seeking P100 million for moral damages, P10 million for exemplary damages, and P1 million in attorney&#x27;s fees. In a previously issued statement, Castro asserted that her statements were based on the pronouncements of the Ombudsman and Leviste, himself. She believes the libel complaint is an effort to silence her.

A Regional Trial Court in Balayan, Batangas has ordered the issuance of summons in the civil libel case filed by Batangas 1st District Representative Leandro Leviste against Presidential Communications Office Undersecretary Claire Castro.

A Regional Trial Court in Balayan, Batangas has ordered the issuance of summons in the civil libel case filed by Batangas 1st District Representative Leandro Leviste against Presidential Communications Office Undersecretary Claire Castro.

Court orders issuance of summons in Leviste's civil libel case against Palace's Castro

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Court orders issuance of summons in Leviste's civil libel case against Palace's Castro

Vivienne Gulla,

ABS-CBN News

Published January 31, 2026 04:27 PM PHT

Read More:

House of Representatives

Leandro Leviste

Claire Castro

Presidential Communications Office

libel

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