Why is Leandro Leviste flying to 19 countries in the next 6 months?

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Asked why he's visiting several countries, Leviste offers a vague answer that raises more questions

It’s another head-scratching move by Batangas 1st District Representative Leandro Leviste, who confirmed he has requested travel clearance from the House to fly to 19 countries.

The travel period covers the next six months, from February to July, and includes dates when Congress is still in session.

Lawmakers seeking authority to travel abroad isn’t out of the ordinary, but for comparison, Leviste’s request is even higher than the 16 countries that Davao City 1st District Representative Paolo Duterte originally sought to visit last year.

What’s with the world tour?

Leviste, who has garnered a reputation among journalists for providing long, vague, and indirect answers during press conferences, provided little clarity when sought for an explanation Friday night, January 30.

“I asked for the travel authority upon the request of representatives of the administration who asked that I go abroad and stop releasing evidence linking government officials to anomalous DPWH projects, but this does not mean that I will be abroad for that whole time. I will be present at any opportunity that Congress gives me to speak on any issue, as long as I am asked or allowed,” Leviste said on Viber.

He did not name who these “representatives” of the Marcos administration are, but said they are “high-level” ones who specifically made the request to his mother, Senator Loren Legarda, so that “I do not name them.”

His answer raises more questions: is he left with no choice but to travel abroad, or is this a calculated move of a neophyte lawmaker who has been difficult to read?

Politiko, which first reported Leviste’s travel request, said the congressman’s long itinerary includes planned visits to China, US, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, and The Netherlands, where former president Rodrigo Duterte is detained in The Hague.

Does he plan to make a stopover there to meet the former president?

“I plan to visit the Filipino community in countries with significant Filipino communities (not in any one particular country, as you can see there’s several listed countries),” Leviste said.

Leviste has earned both political allies and enemies for being a vocal critic of the Department of Public Works and Highways, and for publishing the so-called “Cabral files,” a purported dataset from DPWH that unveils the funding allocations to legislative districts based on a confusing formula. The Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism described “allocables” as automatic DPWH pork for district congressmen.

Critics, however, believe even the billionaire Leviste has skeletons in the closet, and issues involving Solar Philippines have resurfaced since.

Ombudsman Boying Remulla has said Leviste is being investigated for “selling” the franchise of his solar energy business to tycoon Manny V. Pangilinan without congressional approval.

For the record, the company that was given a franchise by Congress is Solar Para sa Bayan Corporation (SPBC), which ceased operations in 2022. The company sold by Leviste to Pangilinan is SP New Energy Corporation (SPNEC), although 27% of it is still owned by Solar Philippines Power Project Holdings (SPPPHI). Leviste is still president and CEO of the holding company.

Leviste’s planned out-of-the-country trip comes just before the House opens its investigation into his businesses.

Observers can’t help but speculate about what really triggered his unusual travel request: was it a consequence of speaking out against alleged corruption, or the result of intensifying scrutiny by adversaries looking for dirt in his enterprises? – Rappler.com