THE Department of Energy (DOE) on Tuesday took a firm stand on the demand letters it sent to the companies linked to Batangas 1st District Representative Leandro Leviste.
At a news conference,DOE-Renewable Energy Management Bureau legal officer Atty. Gabriel Corpuz said the agency issued a total of 27 termination letters since December 2024, with the latest sent in December 2025, to Solar Philippines, its affiliates, and subsidiaries.
‘There’ s a demand also in the terminal letters for the payment of financial obligations under the RE [renewable energy] contracts and the P24 billion amount is the aggregate of all the amounts being demanded by DOE from Solar Philippines and all its affiliates and its subsidiaries. I hope this clarifies the issue,’ said Corpuz.
Lawyer Tony La Viña, acting as the spokesperson of Leviste, said recently that the congressman had never received any demand letter regarding the alleged P24-billion penalties and liabilities. He also claimed that what the Leviste-Legarda camp described as ‘harassment’ only began after the young congressman became vocal against flood-control anomalies in 2025, a claim that runs against the timeline of the DOE letters’ issuance.
It may be recalled that the DOE slapped Solar Philippines a P24-billion fine in forfeited performance bonds and administrative obligations. The bond was allowed to expire without replacement and that repeated government demands for compliance and payment went unanswered.
The DOE later on referred the matter to the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) to initiate civil and criminal proceedings.
A civil complaint was filed against Leviste before the Taguig Regional Trial Court for refusing to honor the conditions stipulated in the RE service contract awarded to the companies he founded and owns.
A 55-page complaint said Leviste should be held accountable for the alleged non-delivery of a major solar project awarded under the government’s Green Energy Auction Program (GEAP).
The DOE recently filed a supplemental estafa complaint against Leviste and former executives regarding 1,380 megawatt (MW) of irregular and undelivered solar and wind projects.
‘As far as I know, we’ve already filed cases to the DOJ for the criminal part. And then the collection case or the civil case is with Solgen [Solicitor General]. I do believe that the Solgen has already filed a case in court. And then the DOJ is under preliminary investigation. While the Ombudsman, I think they’re still under preliminary, if I’m not mistaken. So it’s still ongoing,’ Garin said.
Asked about the strength of the cases filed against Leviste, the energy secretary commented that it is up to the courts to decide. ‘Now, is the case strong or weak? Or is it winnable or not? That’s for the courts to decide and not us, nor the accused, nor the lawyers of the accused. So I’d rather not comment on the strength or weakness of the case. So we’ll just discuss it in court,’ she said.
It may be recalled that the DOE terminated163 RE service contracts from 2024 through 2025 due to developers failing to meet contractual obligations and work program requirements.
Of these, about 64 percent were awarded to Solar Philippines.
The total capacity of the canceled contracts reached nearly 18,000 megawatts. Of which, 59 are solar projects totaling 12, 271.29 MW.