Batangas 1st District Representative Leandro Leviste circulated what he called the “Cabral Files” to divert attention from his accountability in selling the franchise of his SP New Energy Corp. (SPNEC) without the consent of Congress, now under investigation by the Marcos Jr. administration.
“Kasi marami siyang ibang problema. ‘Yung prangkisa niya iniimbestigahan na ngayon eh. Kasi dapat dyan ‘yung franchise hindi mo ninenegosyo. Batang-bata ka ninenegosyo mo ang franchise,” Ombudsman Jesus Crispin “Boying” Remulla revealed on his DZRH program.
“Wala ka bang kahihiyan? Anong klaseng tao ‘yan? Anong klaseng Pilipino ‘yan? National franchise, renewable energy, critical to the national life tapos ganun lang, ibebenta mo, ipi-flip mo lang? Nanay mo pa senador,” he added.
Congress granted SPNEC a 25-year franchise in 2019, and five years later, Leviste sold it to MGen (Meralco) for a total of ₱18.26 billion in October 2025.
According to Remulla, the issue of Leviste’s franchise sale is heavier than the congressman’s touted “Cabral Files,” since former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Undersecretary Maria Catalina Cabral, who could have authenticated the documents, has already passed away.
“The document he got when Cabral was alive is not the same document when she is dead already because there’s nobody to authenticate it. Irrelevant na ‘yun,” Remulla said.
“Mas mabigat ang isyu nya sa franchise nya. Remember walang consent ang Congress sa transfer ng franchise na ‘yan. Kritikal ‘yan. Dapat Congress muna. Dapat may approval muna ng Congress bago mo ituloy ang transfer,” he continued.
Based on reports received by Remulla, 84 contracts entered into by Leviste’s SPNEC have already been cancelled, with major implications for the country’s energy situation.
“With 84 cancelled contracts so far, I was told, it was reported to me. Could you imagine the effect on the national energy situation? You said this was your forecast for energy, the DOE believed you, but it turned out to be just a drawing. It didn’t happen,” Remulla said.
This, he explained, is why he refused to engage with Leviste’s attacks regarding the “Cabral Files.”
“That’s why I refused to engage kasi nagbabago ang usapan. Ang mahalagang pag-usapan muna natin ‘yung franchise nya,” he said.
Remulla added that if Leviste has other evidence to prove the truth of the “Cabral Files,” he should present it and prove it in a congressional investigation, where the Ombudsman will attend. (ZIA LUNA)
