Batangas 1st District Representative Leandro Leviste accused four Cabinet officials allegedly associated with CWS Partylist Representative Edwin Gardiola of benefiting from multibillion-peso Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) projects.
In a television interview, Leviste claimed the officials had endorsed infrastructure proposals that were later awarded to construction companies linked to Gardiola, whom he earlier accused of “pre-ordering” around ₱22 billion worth of projects in the 2025 budget.
“Last week I said there are not one, but two… As it turns out… there’s a fourth (Cabinet official) who is also connected,” he said.
Leviste, son of Senator Loren Legarda, stressed he would not name the officials yet, saying premature disclosure could compromise an investigation.
“I hope you can see that there is a strategy… to ensure that the people who have illegally profited from DPWH contracts can be held to account,” he said.
He argued that the government must recover what he believes are tens of billions of pesos lost to alleged DPWH contracting schemes.
“But you want to recover it from all the culprits… not just the one who acted on it, but those who also benefited or profited from it,” he added.
Calling Gardiola the “largest contractor in Congress,” Leviste urged authorities to probe his involvement in the allegedly irregular projects.
“If the cases are filed, then that proves that there is no protecting Congressman Gardiola,” he said.
Asked whether Executive Secretary Ralph Recto was among the officials linked to the projects, Leviste neither confirmed nor denied.
The administration, he said, has until December 15—its own deadline for jailing corrupt officials—to act. If not, Leviste vowed to name the four Cabinet officials himself.
“If cases are not filed by December 15, then I will,” he warned.