Lalo lamang pinatitibay ni Batangas 1st District Rep. Leandro Legarda Leviste ang posibleng ethics complaint laban sa kanya dahil sa mga kamakailang aksyon, ayon kay Bicol Saro Party-list Rep. Terry Ridon,
Inihayag ni Ridon ang seryosong pagkabahala kasunod ng umano’y “ransacking” ng Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Batangas 1st District Engineering Office (DEO) na isinagawa ni Leviste at ng kanyang grupo noong Agosto 2025.
“This incident should serve as further basis for full House ethics proceedings against Rep. Leviste,” ayon kay Ridon, chairman ng Committee on Public Accounts, sa kanyang pahayag noong Miyerkules, Disyembre 31.
“The DPWH leadership should submit a full report on the incident—who participated, what documents were accessed or copied, what authority was invoked, and what instructions were given to DPWH personnel by Rep. Leviste and his team,” dagdag pa ng kongresista-abogado.
Napaulat noong Lunes na sapilitang kinuha at kinopya ni Leviste ang mga dokumento sa budget ng DPWH mula sa opisina ni noo’y undersecretary Maria Catalina Cabral noong Setyembre 4. Si Cabral ay iniulat na nagpakamatay noong Disyembre 18.
Nauna nang sinabi ni Ridon na sapat na ang insidenteng iyon para magsampa ng kaso laban kay Leviste sa Committee on Ethics and Privileges.
“The fight for truth and accountability cannot dispense with due process and the rule of law. What Rep. Leviste and his team allegedly undertook at the Batangas 1st DEO was an unlawful search operation—conducted without official authority and without a search warrant,” ani Ridon.
“This was an abuse of official power over the staff of the DPWH Batangas 1st DEO. This is not a small matter that the House of Representatives should allow to pass unnoticed,” dagdag pa niya.
Ayon kay Ridon, ang dalawang insidente ay nagpapakita ng nakababahalang pattern mula sa Batangueño.
“This incident, viewed alongside the allegations of the unauthorized taking of DPWH documents from the late DPWH Undersecretary Catalina Cabral, presents a pattern of abuse of official power by Rep. Leviste,” aniya.
“House members should be held to a higher standard in the exercise of our official functions. We cannot exercise our powers in excess of our mandate and authority, and beyond the limits of due process. This incident provides full justification for House ethics proceedings against Batangas Rep. Leandro Leviste,” muling iginiit ni Ridon. (ROSE NOVENARIO)