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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider For education 'ayuda': Legarda Leviste to forego salary, project allocation as congressman

For education 'ayuda': Legarda Leviste to forego salary, project allocation as congressman

Published Jul 12, 2025 12:54 pm

At A Glance

  • Batangas 1st district Rep. Leandro Legarda Leviste says he will forego his own salary and project allocation as a congressman so that it may be used to give direct aid to the education sector.
Batangas 1st district Rep. Leandro Legarda Leviste (Ellson Quismorio/ MANILA BULLETIN) For education 'ayuda': Legarda Leviste to forego salary, project allocation as solon Batangas 1st district Rep. Leandro Legarda Leviste says he will forego his own salary and project allocation as a congressman so that it may be used to give direct aid to the education sector. Speaking in an interview Friday, July 11, the neophyte congressman and self-made billionaire declared that Filipinos' education is worth prioritizing by the government, no matter the cost. Legarda Leviste, 32, has been championing direct financial support for students, especially those who come from poor families. When asked if he would do something akin to the move of Senator Vicente "Toto" Sotto III, who vowed to funnel his salary into scholarships, the Batangueño gave an affirmative answer. "Yes, I mean inclusive of course how much is the salary of [a] congressman, 100 something thousand per month kaya, kasama na rin po yan (It’s probably around 100 something thousand per month, that's also included)," Legarda Leviste said. "I think education is worth prioritizing and educational assistance is an efficient way to do it because it's direct with little overhead cost," he said. The same day, the solon led the distribution of a P1,000 allowance to an estimated 150,000 students in district 1. "In addition to my own personal contribution, to the extent allowed, I will propose that the budget available for various projects and programs in the first district of Batangas will be allocated towards educational assistance and I guess to put it more directly I will not receive any pork barrel as representative of the first district of Batangas," he continued. "We should all go into educational assistance that is a direct financial assistance to the students of the first district of Batangas," stressed Legarda Leviste, son of Senator Loren Legarda. He subsequently gave a clarification on the phrase "pork barrel". "I said I will not receive. And if it doesn't exist, then no one receives. But if there is anything that exists, I will not receive any of it so that's my legally correct answer. if it exists, I will not receive any of it. "What I can say is that to the extent allowed, I propose that the budget available to the first district of Batangas be allocated toward education and particularly educational assistance," Legarda Leviste explained. "You can see that the budget is per district and you can infer from what I'm saying that if a congressman can propose for infrastructure projects in their district, perhaps there's a way that a district can instead prioritize educational projects," he further said. Legarda Leviste is the founder of Solar Philippines. In 2024, he sold a controlling stake in his company to Meralco for P34 billion.
Batangas 1st district Rep. Leandro Legarda Leviste (Ellson Quismorio/ MANILA BULLETIN) For education 'ayuda': Legarda Leviste to forego salary, project allocation as solon Batangas 1st district Rep. Leandro Legarda Leviste says he will forego his own salary and project allocation as a congressman so that it may be used to give direct aid to the education sector. Speaking in an interview Friday, July 11, the neophyte congressman and self-made billionaire declared that Filipinos' education is worth prioritizing by the government, no matter the cost. Legarda Leviste, 32, has been championing direct financial support for students, especially those who come from poor families. When asked if he would do something akin to the move of Senator Vicente "Toto" Sotto III, who vowed to funnel his salary into scholarships, the Batangueño gave an affirmative answer. "Yes, I mean inclusive of course how much is the salary of [a] congressman, 100 something thousand per month kaya, kasama na rin po yan (It’s probably around 100 something thousand per month, that's also included)," Legarda Leviste said. "I think education is worth prioritizing and educational assistance is an efficient way to do it because it's direct with little overhead cost," he said. The same day, the solon led the distribution of a P1,000 allowance to an estimated 150,000 students in district 1. "In addition to my own personal contribution, to the extent allowed, I will propose that the budget available for various projects and programs in the first district of Batangas will be allocated towards educational assistance and I guess to put it more directly I will not receive any pork barrel as representative of the first district of Batangas," he continued. "We should all go into educational assistance that is a direct financial assistance to the students of the first district of Batangas," stressed Legarda Leviste, son of Senator Loren Legarda. He subsequently gave a clarification on the phrase "pork barrel". "I said I will not receive. And if it doesn't exist, then no one receives. But if there is anything that exists, I will not receive any of it so that's my legally correct answer. if it exists, I will not receive any of it. "What I can say is that to the extent allowed, I propose that the budget available to the first district of Batangas be allocated toward education and particularly educational assistance," Legarda Leviste explained. "You can see that the budget is per district and you can infer from what I'm saying that if a congressman can propose for infrastructure projects in their district, perhaps there's a way that a district can instead prioritize educational projects," he further said. Legarda Leviste is the founder of Solar Philippines. In 2024, he sold a controlling stake in his company to Meralco for P34 billion.


Batangas 1st district Rep. Leandro Legarda Leviste says he will forego his own salary and project allocation as a congressman so that it may be used to give direct aid to the education sector.
Speaking in an interview Friday, July 11, the neophyte congressman and self-made billionaire declared that Filipinos' education is worth prioritizing by the government, no matter the cost.
Legarda Leviste, 32, has been championing direct financial support for students, especially those who come from poor families.
When asked if he would do something akin to the move of Senator Vicente "Toto" Sotto III, who vowed to funnel his salary into scholarships, the Batangueño gave an affirmative answer.
"Yes, I mean inclusive of course how much is the salary of [a] congressman, 100 something thousand per month kaya, kasama na rin po yan (It’s probably around 100 something thousand per month, that's also included)," Legarda Leviste said.
"I think education is worth prioritizing and educational assistance is an efficient way to do it because it's direct with little overhead cost," he said.
The same day, the solon led the distribution of a P1,000 allowance to an estimated 150,000 students in district 1.
"In addition to my own personal contribution, to the extent allowed, I will propose that the budget available for various projects and programs in the first district of Batangas will be allocated towards educational assistance and I guess to put it more directly I will not receive any pork barrel as representative of the first district of Batangas," he continued.
"We should all go into educational assistance that is a direct financial assistance to the students of the first district of Batangas," stressed Legarda Leviste, son of Senator Loren Legarda.
He subsequently gave a clarification on the phrase "pork barrel".
"I said I will not receive. And if it doesn't exist, then no one receives. But if there is anything that exists, I will not receive any of it so that's my legally correct answer. if it exists, I will not receive any of it.
"What I can say is that to the extent allowed, I propose that the budget available to the first district of Batangas be allocated toward education and particularly educational assistance," Legarda Leviste explained.
"You can see that the budget is per district and you can infer from what I'm saying that if a congressman can propose for infrastructure projects in their district, perhaps there's a way that a district can instead prioritize educational projects," he further said.
Legarda Leviste is the founder of Solar Philippines. In 2024, he sold a controlling stake in his company to Meralco for P34 billion.
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