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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Leviste refuses salary as congressman; is focused on fixing DPWH budget

Leviste refuses salary as congressman; is focused on fixing DPWH budget

Published Oct 16, 2025 08:54 am

At A Glance

  • Batangas 1st district Rep. Leandro Legarda Leviste recently made a boss move that only he had the wherewithal and motivation to pull off among 300-plus congressmen.
Batangas 1st district Rep. Leandro Legarda Leviste (Facebook)
Batangas 1st district Rep. Leandro Legarda Leviste (Facebook)


Batangas 1st district Rep. Leandro Legarda Leviste recently made a boss move that only he had the wherewithal and motivation to pull off among 300-plus congressmen.
In a Facebook post Wednesday night, Oct. 15, Leviste announced that he had returned his full salary and office budget since his term as a House of Representatives member began.
The neophyte solon said this was to keep his independence amid his calls to improve the 2026 budget of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
By improve, he meant to shave off 25 percent project cost in order to eliminate the possibility of kickbacks, especially on controversial flood mitigation projects.
"Pagkatapos ng lahat ng mga flood control hearings, hindi natin dapat aprubahan ang parehong mga presyo sa mga proyekto ng DPWH. Dapat nating ibaba ng 25 percent ang presyo ng DPWH para matanggal ang ₱150 bilyong posibleng kickback," Leviste said.
(We should not approve the same cost of projects under DPWH after all the flood control hearings we had. We have to reduce them by 25 percent to remove possible kickbacks reaching up to ₱150 billion.)
According to Leviste, his decision to return his salary and office budget was out of "delicadeza".
"Hindi siya tatanggap ng sweldo o anumang office budget hangga't hindi pa niya makita na sulit ang isinahod sa kanya (He will not receive his salary or any office budget until he achieves his goal and earn his keep)," the same post read.
Of course, Leviste neither needs or is motivated by money. He was dubbed the country’s youngest self-made billionaire after he sold in 2024 a controlling stake in his company Solar Philippines New Energy Corporation to Meralco for P34 billion.
"Ako po ay 32 years old at siguro kahit na anong klaseng lifestyle ko hindi ko mauubos ang kinita ko sa negosyo sa buong buhay ko. At simple din naman po ako mabuhay," he said at the start of his term earlier this year.
(I’m 32 years old, and I think that no matter what kind of lifestyle I live, I wouldn’t be able to spend everything I’ve earned from my business in my lifetime. Also, I live a simple life.)
Last week, Leviste showed his conviction on the DPWH issue by voting "no" to the third reading passage of the P6.793-trillion General Appropriations Bill (GAB) or proposed national budget for 2025. He was the lone member of the House majority bloc to do so.
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