The Department of Energy (DOE) has intensified its legal actions against Batangas 1st District Representative Leandro Leviste.
The agency accuses the solar entrepreneur of masterminding a scheme that allegedly utilized misrepresentation to secure limited state renewable energy allocations, retain the concessions without generating power, and subsequently monetize those rights for private profit.
In a supplemental complaint-affidavit submitted on Tuesday, September 8, Energy Secretary Sharon Garin charged Leviste alongside former Solar Philippines executives Hazel Iris Lafuente and Irma Flaminiano with estafa through false pretenses under Article 315 of the Revised Penal Code.
The DOE contends that Leviste and his co-respondents misrepresented the project readiness, regulatory qualifications, and financial capacity of companies under the Solar Philippines group.
These submissions allowed their firms to win allocations under the first Green Energy Auction Program (GEA-1) totaling 1,350 megawatts (MW) of solar capacity and 30 MW of wind capacity, which were slated for delivery by December 25, 2025.
Beyond the undelivered energy commitments, the complaint asserts that the respondents ran their network as a “single, centrally controlled group” to systematically “capture, hold, assign, and cash out government-conferred energy rights” through deceit.
The filing identifies Leviste as the “principal sponsor, founder, controlling shareholder, and ultimate beneficial owner” of the involved entities.
Official records indicate he maintained dominant equity control, held subscriptions totaling hundreds of millions of pesos, and directed key operational and disposition decisions across the network.
Furthermore, his execution of performance bonds and regulatory commitments showed he was an “active orchestrator” rather than a nominal officer.
At the center of the case are audited financial statements as of December 31, 2021, which revealed that several participating entities suffered from negative equity, while SP New Energy Corp. fell below the 30 percent equity threshold standard for utility-scale solar projects. The agency argued these were non-forecasted facts deliberately concealed to “maliciously induce” the state into approving their eligibility.
The DOE highlighted subsequent conduct—including missed milestones, lapsed performance bonds, and subsequent corporate restructurings—as evidence of fraudulent intent rather than simple commercial failure.
“Taken together, this conduct shows what Respondents intended from the start. They never meant to build. They obtained these state-conferred rights by deceit and land-banked them—holding public concessions undeveloped until they could be assigned, restructured, or sold,” Garin said.
The agency concluded that the group “procured state privileges by deceit, held public energy rights they never intended to develop, and converted those rights to private gain”.