Lawmakers from Batangas have condemned what they described as malicious, irresponsible and baseless allegations made by First District Rep. Leandro Legarda Leviste against Executive Secretary Ralph Recto and Batangas Gov. Vilma Santos-Recto.
In House Resolution 994, several Batangas representatives expressed solidarity and support for the Recto couple following Leviste’s privilege speech delivered on May 5.
Among those who backed the resolution were 6th District Rep. Ryan Recto, Reps. Amado Carlos Bolilia, King George Collantes, Beverly Rose Dimacuha and Gerville Luistro.
The lawmakers argued that the alleged anomalies mentioned by Leviste lacked competent, verifiable and documentary evidence. They also claimed that the accusations were based mainly on anonymous sources.
The resolution emphasized that while members of Congress are protected by parliamentary immunity, such privilege should not be abused for personal interests.
The Batangas lawmakers further described Leviste’s actions as a “grave misuse of legislative authority” and accused him of acting as a spreader of fake information.
According to the resolution, the lawmakers believe politics was behind Leviste’s speech and alleged that the objective was to damage the decades-long public service record of Recto and Santos-Recto.
Leviste delivered the privilege speech on May 5, raising allegations related to supposed anomalies in Batangas. However, the lawmakers supporting House Resolution 994 maintained that the accusations had no sufficient evidence to support the claims.
The resolution serves as a formal expression of support for the Recto couple amid the ongoing political controversy involving the Batangas officials.
