Senator Loren Legarda firmly rejected the Office of the Ombudsman’s questioning of her official absences, asserting that her medical leave strictly adhered to upper chamber protocols and was properly recorded.
Addressing allegations in a statement, Legarda defended her extensive public career and denied engaging in any improper activity.
“I have served our country with utmost dedication and integrity for more than three decades. I will not allow baseless accusations to trample on my unblemished record of public service,” Legarda said in a statement.
She maintained that her time away was documented formally under existing Senate regulations.
“I have filed a medical leave with the Senate, in accordance with Senate rules,” she stressed.
Legarda’s statement comes in response to remarks from Assistant Ombudsman and spokesperson Mico Clavano, who raised doubts over the extended medical leave of the senator as well as the two-month travel permit granted to her son, Batangas 1st District Representative Leandro Leviste.
Clavano revealed during a press briefing that investigators obtained documentation detailing Leviste’s international travel schedule alongside Legarda’s leave extensions.
“We were able to obtain a travel authority wherein he asked for two months of leave no from July 26 to September 24. He listed several countries that he would want to or he intended to visit. On the other hand, Senator Loren Legarda is on her I believe third extension of her travel authority for medical reasons, which we have begun to find quite suspicious already,” Clavano said in a press conference on Tuesday.
He noted that the anti-graft agency flagged these travel requests because of a pending inquiry.
“We need to flag this because there is an ongoing case (investigation) here in the Office of the Ombudsman,” Clavano added.
The Ombudsman’s active probe focuses on ₱10-billion plunder and graft complaints linked to allegations that Leviste’s renewable energy enterprise failed to supply solar power services mandated by its legislative franchise.
Additionally, the Department of Energy (DOE) filed a separate complaint with the Department of Justice (DOJ) targeting Leviste and five executives of Solar Para sa Bayan Corporation (SPBC) over reported Public Service Act breaches.
Denying any wrongdoing, Legarda reiterated her compliance with the law.
“Neither I nor anyone else deserves to be subjected to unfounded accusations over the exercise of one’s legal rights. I have committed absolutely no wrongdoing,” she said.
The senator urged the public to examine the accusations critically, pointing out the suspicious timing of the complaints leveled against her family.
“I urge the public to be discerning, especially in light of the timing and nature of these false allegations. I remain confident that once the facts come out, we will be vindicated,” she said.