Leviste files P111M libel raps vs Palace spox Castro
BALAYAN, Batangas—Batangas Rep. Leandro Leviste, whose solar power company was recently sanctioned by the Department of Energy (DOE), is pursuing a battle on the side—this time with a Palace official.
Leviste on Friday filed a civil libel complaint against Malacanang Press Officer Claire Castro for supposedly spreading false information about his businesses.
He was accompanied by his new legal counsel, Ferdinand Topacio, in filing the complaint at the Balayan Regional Trial Court (RTC) in Batangas province, where Leviste is the congressman representing the first district.
“Technically I could have easily pressed criminal charges, but I don’t want her to face jail time,” Leviste said at a press conference after his filing, explaining the civil nature of the complaint.
“What’s clear however is that there are forces trying to distract or disrupt but our goal is for transparency that’s why we filed a complaint against her,” he said.
The neophyte lawmaker is seeking P100 million in moral damages, P10 million in exemplary damages, and P1 million to cover attorney’s fees.
Leviste accused Castro of “defaming him” by claiming that he illegally sold off the franchise for Solar Para Sa Bayan Corp. (SPBC), one of his companies in the power sector.
SPBC was awarded a congressional franchise through Republic Act No. 11357 in 2019 to construct, install and operate solar-powered microgrids in remote areas.
On Tuesday, the DOE slapped a P24-billion fine against Solar Philippines Power Project Holdings Inc., (SPPPHI), the mother company of Leviste’s solar business, for failing to produce power it committed to deliver under more than 30 service contracts with the government.
Touching on the DOE sanction, Leviste denied that SPPPHI failed to deliver its targets, saying this was because most of its projects were not granted permits to proceed.
Different firm
In his libel complaint, Leviste said Castro talked about him in more than a dozen episodes of her personal YouTube channel and that she insinuated that he “sold or flipped the franchise granted to him without the required congressional approval [and that] the grant of the same to him was an unwarranted favor from President Duterte.”
In reality, he said, the franchise for SPBC was automatically revoked and already rendered moot in 2022 after the DOE failed to issue implementing rules and regulations.
Leviste clarified that what he sold was SP New Energy Corp. (SPNEC), another company that did not have any franchise, to Manila Electric Co. (Meralco).
After his press conference, Leviste brought reporters to the sprawling 160-hectare Calatagan solar power plant in Barangay Paraiso, Calatagan, his first big project under SPNEC.
The solar farm was built atop a tract of land he inherited from his father, former Batangas Gov. Antonio Leviste. Its success, he said, helped him establish other plants in Tarlac and Nueva Ecija, where he broke ground for the largest renewable energy project in the country.
Between 2023 and 2025, Leviste sold 14.60 billion shares of SPNEC to Meralco for P18.26 billion and 1.84 billion shares of SPNEC to public shareholders for P2.23 billion.
He said it was the success of these plants that encouraged Meralco to buy the controlling shares for SPNEC.
Cabral files
In response to the complaint, Castro on Friday asked who could be “behind” Leviste’s move, calling it an attempt “to stop me from speaking out and discussing these issue.”
“Here’s the question now: Who is really behind the filing of this case against me? Who wants to shut me up? Who stands to gain the most from this?” she asked.
Leviste said “attacks” against him intensified after he disclosed that he had taken possession of documents from the late Public Works Undersecretary Catalina Cabral.
These so-called Cabral files supposedly detailed how certain officials, lawmakers and contractors colluded to insert “ghost” and substandard infrastructure projects in the national budget to gain kickbacks.
“The motivation of defendant is evident: she wants to destroy plaintiff’s good name and reputation in a desperate attempt to ruin plaintiff’s credibility, since plaintiff is now at the forefront of criticizing massive and widespread corruption in flood control projects,” he said in his complaint.
Leviste clarified that the complaint sought damages from Castro in her personal capacity and was not an attack against the Marcos administration. —WITH A REPORT FROM LUISA CABATO
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