Leandro Leviste vs Ryan Recto: Political scions clash in House over corruption claims

MANILA, Philippines – Batangas 1st District Representative Leandro Leviste on Tuesday, May 5, alleged that CWS Representative Edwin Gardiola funded the campaign of Executive Secretary Ralph Recto’s wife, Batangas Governor Vilma Santos-Recto, in the 2025 elections, and insinuated that the supposed arrangement was in exchange for political favors.

In a speech on the House floor, Leviste also claimed that he was invited to join a scheme where Recto would use his Cabinet post to profit from public works projects.

“If this is legitimate, then it is proper for Secretary Recto to be transparent about his wealth, and to clarify whether Congressman Gardiola’s campaign spending is linked to his role as a contractor in Batangas,” Leviste said.

Recto’s son, Batangas 6th District Representative Ryan Recto, stood up to refute Leviste’s allegations against his father.

“This plenary should not be used to present speculation without sufficient basis. On the alleged ties between Gardiola and Recto, their association is purely professional, as Congressman Gardiola is also a member of the House of Representatives and a fellow Batangueño. There are no personal interests involved, only a shared commitment to fulfilling their duties to their constituents,” Recto said.

The House later approved a motion to strike Leviste’s entire speech from the records, supposedly because it does not appear to be a matter of personal and collective privilege.

Rappler previously wrote three investigative stories on the ties of Gardiola to companies that bagged billions of pesos in public works projects, as well as his his alleged involvement in a kickback scheme in Congress. He later denied allegations of wrongdoing. We have reached out again to Gardiola over Leviste’s new allegations, and we will update this story once he responds.

‘Bitter brat’: Ralph Recto responds to claims

Secretary Recto, in a statement, flipped the script, saying it was Leviste who tried to woo him with P400 million to convince the neophyte lawmaker’s 2025 opponent to back out of the race. Leviste unseated veteran lawmaker Eric Buhain in the last polls.

Recto also alleged that Leviste offered ₱1 billion to his family to persuade Santos-Recto to withdraw from the gubernatorial race so he could run in her place. Recto said he turned down both offers.

Recto said attempts to link him to Gardiola are misleading.

“The truth is, the Gardiolas have long been my political rivals, we’ve faced each other in many elections, and I only worked with him in 2022 out of respect for a fellow Batangueño congressman,” Recto said.

As for Leviste’s alleged motive for making the allegation against him and his family, Recto said: “He is doing this to bury his P24 billion debt, which stems from his so-called “ghost” solar projects — his biggest scam against the government and the Filipino people. There are also reports that he is handing out money to discredit me, driven by his hunger for power and attention.”

In January, the Department of Energy imposed P24 billion in penalties on Solar Philippines Power Project Holdings Incorporated, a renewable energy firm founded by Leviste, for failure to meet commitments.

“This is a bitter brat. Prone to tantrums, even badmouthing the woman who gave birth to him in front of many people,” Recto also claimed, referring to Leviste’s mother, Senator Loren Legarda. – Rappler.com