Daven Tamayo

Recto on Leandro Leviste’s departure from PH: ‘It doesn’t matter to me’

Article (news)

Katrina Domingo

ABS-CBN News

<p>BATANGAS — Executive Secretary Ralph Recto on Thursday brushed aside questions about Batangas 1st District Rep. Leandro Leviste’s sudden departure from the Philippines amid investigations into the lawmaker’s alleged disinformation campaigns and political plots against him.</p><p>“It doesn’t matter to me whether he is away or he is here,” Recto told reporters in a chance interview.</p><p>“I don’t even think about him,” he said.</p><p>Recto and Leviste — both from Batangas province — have been n a political feud this year since the lawmaker accused the executive secretary of using his Cabinet post to profit from public projects.</p><p>Recto denied the accusations, saying that it was Leviste who tried to offer him some P400 million, and his wife Batangas Gov. Vilma Santos around P1 billion to step aside in the 2025 midterm elections.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/8/11/leviste-through-lawyer-denies-honey-trap-link-1425">Leviste, through lawyer, denies &#x27;honey trap&#x27; link</a></div><p>Leviste — who is also being hounded by the energy department for his unfinished solar energy projects — left the Philippines on August 2, days after the Ombudsman announced a plunder investigation into him and his mother, Sen. Loren Legarda.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/7/31/ombudsman-panel-to-seek-preliminary-probe-vs-leandro-leviste-loren-legarda-over-solar-firms-1443">Ombudsman: Plunder, graft raps vs Leandro Leviste, Loren Legarda over ‘solar empire’ to undergo preliminary probe</a></div><p>The Batangas representative’s travel authority is effective from July 26 to September 24. He is expected to travel to several destinations in Asia, America, and Europe.</p><p>When asked to comment on speculation that Leviste and Legarda are reportedly seeking asylum in Europe, Recto said: “I have no idea.”</p><p>Legarda earlier said that she traveled overseas on a <a href="http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/news/nation/2026/8/24/legarda-extends-medical-leave-1651">medical leave </a>“covering August 3 to 5, 2026, in accordance with Senate rules.”</p><p>She also asked the public &quot;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.” </p><p>On Tuesday, the Senate Secretary confirmed that Legarda extended her medical leave to September 2.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO:</strong></div><div style="text-align:center"><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/uJEEOzB7QgM?si=02voNcWT4KUAa-6l" title="YouTube video player" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div>

<p>Executive Secretary Ralph Recto on Thursday brushed aside questions about Batangas Rep. Leandro Leviste’s sudden departure from the Philippines amid investigations into the lawmaker’s alleged disinformation campaigns and political plots against him.</p>

Executive Secretary Ralph Recto on Thursday brushed aside questions about Batangas Rep. Leandro Leviste’s sudden departure from the Philippines amid investigations into the lawmaker’s alleged disinformation campaigns and political plots against him.