Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla said Friday he expects Sen. Loren Legarda and her son, Batangas Rep. Leandro Leviste, to return to the Philippines despite the ongoing preliminary investigation into graft and plunder complaints against them.
Remulla made the statement after the Bureau of Immigration confirmed that Legarda and Leviste left the country on Aug. 2.
“I don’t think they will escape. They will come back. We believe that they will come back,” Remulla told reporters.
He added, “Maybe they want to come back with handcuffs if they don’t come back.”
Remulla said the Ombudsman is continuing its preliminary investigation, a stage that determines whether there is enough evidence to file charges before the Sandiganbayan.
Last week, Remulla disclosed that the complaints against Legarda, Leviste and former Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi had reached the preliminary investigation stage.
Investigators alleged that the three conspired to secure exclusive government rights over the country’s solar energy resources through legislative and regulatory actions.
The Ombudsman said several awarded solar energy projects were allegedly never developed as promised, resulting in more than P10.44 billion in unpaid financial obligations to the government. Remulla, however, claimed the total damage could reach “hundreds of billions” of pesos.
Remulla also alleged that Leviste would not have secured the government contracts without the influence of his mother, who chaired the Senate finance committee.
Legarda has denied the allegations, calling them “false and baseless.”
