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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Legarda hails son's win ending 30-year regime of Buhain family

Legarda hails son's win ending 30-year regime of Buhain family

Published May 14, 2025 09:17 pm

At A Glance

  • Leandro Legarda-Leviste made a historic win against Rep. Eric Buhain, an incumbent congressman whose family has held the position of Batangas 1st District Representative for 30 years.

Senator Loren Legarda on Wednesday, May 14 welcomed the political shift happening in Batangas’ first district where her son, Leandro Legarda-Leviste won in a landslide victory.

Legarda-Leviste made a historic win against Rep. Eric Buhain, an incumbent congressman whose family has held the position of Batangas 1st District Representative for 30 years.

Legarda hailed Legarda-Leviste’s victory and thanked the voters for electing him as the new representative of the province’s first district during the May 2025 elections, marking a shift in the political scene in the province which Leviste had described as the poorest in the whole province of Batangas.

The senator's son received 268,764 votes—the highest margin of victory and the highest number of votes received by a candidate for the House of Representatives in the history of Batangas—while Buhain, husband of former Rep. Eileen Ermita, got only 91,588 votes.

Legarda vouched that her son’s upcoming constituents will enjoy an effective brand of public service.

“I am pleased that the voters of the first district of Batangas made the right decision because they elected a good example of perseverance in life. This victory is not only his, it is the victory of the Batangueños,” Legarda said in a statement in Filipino.

“I saw how he worked hard to fulfill his dreams—in the private sector at a young age and now, as a public servant,” she added.  

“I am also aware of his dedication to uplifting the livelihood and development of the seven towns and one city in the first district,” the senator stressed.

Legarda-Leviste ran under the platform of improving the first district’s local economy, considered as the most underdeveloped in the province. Batangas’ First District comprises the towns of Nasugbu, Lian, Calatagan, Tuy, Balayan, Lemery, Taal, and the city of Calaca.

He is considered the country’s youngest self-made billionaire entrepreneur, having been the founder and CEO of Solar Philippines New Energy.

“My dream is that in the coming decade, the towns in the First District will become modern cities, and the entire First District will become a metropolis that can be called Metro Batangas,” Legarda-Leviste had said in a media interview.

“I would like to thank those who encouraged me to run and supported our campaign. We will now work on our programs for education and infrastructure development, and hope this election gives people more hope for the future in the 1st District,” he assured.

Related Tags

Loren Legarda Batangas Batangas First District Eric Buhain Buhain
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