In Batangas 1st District, Legarda’s son Leandro Leviste dethrones Buhain

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The 32-year-old Leviste, a successful businessman, heavily courted the youth vote, consistently participating in student-organized fora throughout the campaign

MANILA, Philippines – Businessman Leandro Leviste, son of Senator Loren Legarda, grabbed the congressional post in Batangas’ 1st District from the Ermitas and Buhains, who have kept the seat mostly to themselves in the last three decades.

Leviste garnered more than 257,000 votes, a far cry from incumbent Eric Buhain’s 87,000. He was proclaimed on Tuesday, May 13.

Buhain’s father-in-law, Gloria Arroyo-era executive secretary Eduardo Ermita, first led the district from 1992 to 2001, followed by Eric’s wife, Eileen Ermita-Buhain, from 2001 to 2010, then 2013 to 2022.

The only time the Ermita-Buhain clan lost the seat was from 2010 to 2013.

Leviste’s political roots locally and nationally are much more established though. His father Tony Leviste was governor of the province from 1972 to 1980, while his mother Legarda, the longest-serving female senator in the Senate, is the only female lawmaker to top two senatorial races in Philippine history.

Leviste was carried by the One Batangas alliance of Governor-elect Vilma Santos-Recto, even though the film legend belongs to the same party as Buhain’s, the Nacionalista Party. Leviste also secured the endorsement of Iglesia ni Cristo, a religious bloc known for bloc voting.

The 32-year-old Leviste also heavily courted the youth vote, consistently participating in student-organized fora throughout the campaign. In contrast, Buhain was criticized for snubbing the town hall events.

He pledged to expand educational assistance for students from elementary to college in the first district. He also committed to creating more livelihood opportunities for his future constituents and to building public hospitals, as well as essential infrastructure such as roads, irrigation systems, and streetlights.

“I am not running to increase my net worth. I am running because I have already been very fortunate in life, and ever since I was young, I’ve seen the potential of the 1st District of Batangas that remains unrealized due to a lack of infrastructure,” he said in one of the fora he attended.

“For infrastructure to improve in the 1st District, there must be no more corruption in government projects in the district,” he added.

Leviste is an entrepreneur who founded Solar Philippines in 2013. He later expanded his business fortunes beyond renewable energy, acquiring a 10% stake in media giant ABS-CBN in 2024.

Leviste’s opponent Buhain is a retired swimmer who won numerous gold medals in the Southeast Asian games in the mid-1980s to the early 1990s. He later became the chairman of the Philippine Sports Commission and the Games and Amusement Board.

The 1st District of Batangas is composed of the localities of Balayan, Calaca, Calatagan, Lemery, Lian, Nasugbu, Taal, and Tuy. – Rappler.com