BATANGAS First District Representative Leandro Leviste said on Tuesday, May 5, 2026, that it was CWS party-list Representative Edwin Gardiola who funded the 2025 campaign of Batangas Governor Vilma Santos, the wife of Executive Secretary Ralph Recto.
Leviste's Privilege Speech
In a privilege speech, Leviste accused Gardiola of spending around P1 billion to support Santos and her eldest son Luis Manzano, who lost his bid for vice governor of Batangas. “If this is true, the next question is: Why did Gardiola spend more than P1 billion for the Rectos?” he said. “Is this merely friendship, or is Ralph Recto, as a Cabinet secretary of the Republic of the Philippines, doing something that would prompt Gardiola to spend this much?”
Leviste also claimed receiving a business partnership offer from Gardiola along with Recto for road projects. He alleged that Gardiola proposed a system used in Lipa and other towns: identify areas for road openings, inform them of potential land purchases, with Recto helping fund projects due to his Cabinet position and Gardiola handling contractors.
House Response
Recto’s son, Batangas Sixth District Representative Ryan Recto, confronted Leviste, calling the accusations baseless and “fake news.” House Deputy Speaker Janette Garin asked if Leviste had documentary evidence. Leviste replied, “I am just relaying what was told to me, and the figures I received are quite high — maybe only P300, P400, or P500 million was spent on the election. Don’t take it from me. Let’s call for a hearing, and all Batangueños may respond.” The House voted to delete parts of Leviste’s speech lacking evidence.
Recto's Counter-Accusations
In a statement, Recto labeled Leviste a “liar, attention seeker, and lacking intelligence and love.” He accused Leviste of trying to bribe him with P400 million to encourage an opponent to step back in the 2025 polls, and later offering P1 billion for Governor Vi to withdraw so Leviste could take her place. Recto claimed Leviste’s mother was crying during the offer and apologized afterward.
Recto also alleged that Leviste engineered a massive vote-buying operation in Batangas and is eyeing thousands of hectares of sugarcane land in Nasugbu. “I do not have the ability to accommodate someone who can be considered a land grabber,” Recto said. He claimed Leviste is trying to offset a P24 billion debt from “ghost solar projects,” calling it “his biggest scam against the government and the Filipino people.”
Recto Denies Business Ties
Recto denied having business ties with Gardiola, his political rival, and involvement in ghost infrastructure projects. He described Leviste as a “bitter brat” prone to tantrums and badmouthing his mother. “In my 30 years of public service, it is only now that I have encountered someone like this — more greedy, more cunning, deceptive, and willing to set aside the truth for personal gain,” Recto said. “He is a deranged and dangerous person who will even skin his loved ones to feed his narcissism.”
Recto added that Leviste is “the leading national inventor of lies” and warned, “If he will not stop telling lies about me, it is tempting for me to start telling the truth about him.”
