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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Recto fires back at Leviste, warns of 'telling the truth' over alleged lies

Recto fires back at Leviste, warns of 'telling the truth' over alleged lies

Published May 5, 2026 07:59 pm
Executive Secretary Ralph Recto (Manila Bulletin File Photo)
Executive Secretary Ralph Recto (Manila Bulletin File Photo)
Telling the truth, Executive Secretary Ralph Recto said, is the "antidote" to the allegations made by Batangas 1st District Representative Leandro Leviste against him, whom he labeled a liar.
In a lengthy statement on Tuesday, May 5, Recto dismissed Leviste's allegations against him by accusing the lawmaker of several bribery attempts, which the Executive Secretary "turned down."
"Sa daming pagsubok na kinakaharap ng ating bansa, ayaw ko sanang patulan ang mga kasinungalingan ng isang kulang sa pansin, kulang sa pag-iisip, at kulang sa pagmamahal (With all the trials our nation is facing, I would rather not dignify the lies of someone lacking attention, lacking reason, and lacking love),” Recto said in a strongly-worded statement.
"But you can only fight a natural-born liar with truth. At sa walang humpay na walang basehang paninirang puri, may hangganan din ang pagtitimpi (And in the face of relentless, baseless defamation, patience also has its limits)," Recto added.
The Executive Secretary revealed that since their first meeting, he has rejected offers from Leviste to advance his political career, including an alleged P400-million offer “to bribe his political opponent so that they would withdraw from the campaign”; and an alleged P1-billion offer in exchange for Governor Vilma Santos’ withdrawal from the polls.
Recto said he turned down all of these offers.
"Sa unang pagtatagpo pa lang namin, may handa siyang PHP 400 milyon at mariin niya akong pinakiusapan na suhulan ang kanyang kalaban sa pulitika upang umatras ito sa kampanya. Tinanggihan ko ito (From our very first meeting, he already had PHP 400 million ready and strongly urged me to bribe his political opponent so that they would withdraw from the campaign. I refused)," Recto said.
"Noong sumunod na linggo, hindi pa siya nakontento. Inalok niya kami ng PHP 1 bilyon para sa pag-urong ni Governor Vi upang siya ang humalili (The following week, he still wasn’t satisfied. He offered us PHP 1 billion in exchange for Governor Vi’s withdrawal so he could take her place)," Recto further revealed.
The Palace official also denied summoning Leviste to meetings.
"Hindi ko siya pinatawag sa mga pulong. Siya at kampo nya ang parating nangungulit na magkaharap kami (I did not summon him to meetings. He and his camp were the ones constantly insisting that we meet face to face)," Recto said.
Recto pointed out that there are important challenges "that require our full attention and action."
"If he will not stop telling lies about me, it is tempting for me to start telling the truth about him," he warned.
"Dahil maraming pagsubok tayong hinaharap. Hindi dapat pag-aksayan ang isang barker sa circus na kung kailangan ay kakain ng bubog para mapansin siya (Because we are facing many challenges, we should not waste time on a circus barker who, if necessary, would eat glass just to get attention)," Recto stressed.
The ongoing exchange of barbs between the two Batangas politicians can be traced back to Leviste's April 13 critique of Recto, in which he asked the Palace official to stop blocking Congress' attempts to suspend or reduce the value-added tax (VAT) on fuel.

Related Tags

Ralph Recto Leandro Legarda Leviste VAT Executive Secretary Ralph Recto Congress Batangas
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