2 months ago
41
Upgrade to High-Speed Internet for only ₱1499/month!
Enjoy up to 100 Mbps fiber broadband, perfect for browsing, streaming, and gaming.
Visit Suniway.ph to learn
January 16, 2026 | 3:05pm
MANILA, Philippines — Loss of appetite, anxiety and sleepless nights were among the damages Rep. Leandro Leviste said he suffered from Palace Press Officer Claire Castro’s statements about his solar firm.
The neophyte lawmaker filed a 22-page libel complaint against Castro before the Balayan Regional Trial Court in Batangas on Friday, January 16.
Leviste alleged that Castro made defamatory remarks when she claimed Leviste sold a company with a legislative franchise, suing her for P110 million in damages and P1 million in legal fees.
“Plaintiff and his family have suffered so much, experiencing wounded feelings, severe stress, faced bouts of anxiety, besmirched reputation, loss of appetite and sleepless nights, all because of defendant’s slanderous remarks,” the complaint read.
In his complaint, Leviste clarified that the social enterprise Solar Para Sa Bayan Corp. (SPBC), which received a 25-year franchise to build and operate microgrids nationwide in 2019, was not the firm sold to Meralco PowerGen Corp (MGEN).
It was the subsidiary of Solar Philippines Power Project Holdings Inc. (SPPPHI), SP New Energy Corp. (SPNEC), to which he sold most of his shares to MGEN. In October 2025, he divested roughly P13.8 billion in shares in a deal with Meralco’s subsidiary.
Leviste particularly complained about one of Castro’s recent YouTube videos in which she questioned the operations of the lawmaker’s solar firms.
For him, it appeared as if she was insinuating Solar Philippines had debts with the Department of Energy and decided to divest from them after incurring penalties for failing to meet contractual obligations.
The DOE said Solar Philippines will have to pay P24 billion in penalties and financial obligations for failing to comply with the contractual commitments of the renewable energy projects it secured.
Castro began discussing Leviste’s solar firms in her videos after Ombudsman Boying Remulla revealed an ongoing investigation into the legislative franchise, which the lawmaker believes was made to look like he violated laws to obtain.
Leviste accused Castro of besmirching his reputation in the way she shared her thoughts and opinions on his solar firm. He said it was her “desperate attempt to ruin his credibility” while he criticized the Marcos administration for alleged corruption tied to the flood control projects.
Castro fired back by saying the civil libel complaint is an attempt to silence her from questioning his motives.
Leviste admitted in a broadcast interview on January 15 that both SPBC and the solar company, which was fined P24 billion, are no longer operating.
“SPBC is actually defunct and no longer operating. It stopped operating many years ago,” he told Bilyonaro News Channel.
Since the flood control probe began, Leviste has been acting on his own to secure any documents related to the budget insertions and kickback scheme, throwing corruption allegations against his fellow lawmakers and other government officials.
The lawmaker said he now fears for his life, adding that he anticipated attempts to silence him after he disclosed documents he obtained from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
"Huwag niyo akong patayin (Don't kill me)," he said at a press conference on Friday.
