DOE: Only 0.3% collected from P24 billion in penalties vs Leviste’s Solar Philippines

LEVISTE. Batangas 1st District Representative Leandro Leviste attends the resumption of the Senate blue ribbon committee probe on anomalous flood control projects on January 19, 2026. Angie de Silva/Rappler Energy Secretary Sharon Garin says the government is pursuing legal action to recover expired performance bonds The Philippine government has collected only P80 million of the P24 billion in obligations and penalties from Solar Philippines, with ongoing legal actions to recover the remaining amounts. The Department of Energy has terminated numerous renewable energy contracts with Solar Philippines due to unmet development commitments, representing a significant portion of the country's renewable energy projects. Leandro Leviste is under investigation for alleged plunder and graft related to solar projects. This is AI-generated. Read the article for full context. Report any errors. MANILA, Philippines – The government has so far collected only around P80 million, or roughly 0.3%, of the P24 billion in obligations and penalties involving Solar Philippines, the renewable energy company founded by Batangas 1st District Representative Leandro Leviste, Energy Secretary Sharon Garin said on Wednesday, September 2. During the Department of Energy’s (DOE) budget hearing at the House of Representatives, Akbayan Representative Chel Diokno asked Garin how much of the P24 billion previously flagged by the department had been collected. “P80 million, Mr. Chair,” Garin replied, explaining that the amount represented payment of a training and development fee. The remaining amount of several billions includes penalties involving performance bonds and other obligations arising from the company’s renewable energy projects. (READ: Leviste’s solar firm fined P24 billion over stalled contracts) Diokno said around P14 billion involved expired performance bonds, which Garin confirmed the government was seeking to recover through legal action. Garin said the matter is now with the Office of the Solicitor General and Department of Justice, with civil and criminal cases being pursued. The DOE earlier terminated dozens of renewable energy service contracts involving Solar Philippines after projects failed to meet their development commitments. The terminated projects represented more than 11,000 megawatts, or nearly two-thirds of all renewable energy contracts terminated or relinquished in 2024 and 2025. The P24-billion amount includes performance bonds, contractual obligations, training and development fees, and other financial obligations under the contracts. In June, the DOE separately filed a civil case seeking to recover a P1.18-billion performance bond tied to the delayed 120-MW General Santos solar project. Diokno also pressed Garin on why Solar Philippines had not been blacklisted. Garin said DOE previously had no specific framework providing for blacklisting or suspension, but the department has recently issued new accountability guidelines for generation companies. “It gives them three strikes, and we can blacklist them,” Garin said on Wednesday. Leviste and his solar businesses have faced growing scrutiny. Solar Philippines Power Project Holdings, the parent company of the group facing hefty fines, is also the Leviste-controlled holding company that remains a shareholder of listed renewable energy developer SP New Energy Corporation (SPNEC). On Tuesday, September 1, Leviste’s holding company disclosed that it had sold a further P3 billion worth of SPNEC shares, cutting its stake to 11.51%. SPNEC was originally part of Leviste’s Solar Philippines group but is now majority-controlled by Meralco PowerGen’s renewable energy arm. MGEN has stressed that SPNEC is a separate corporate entity and is not liable for the P24-billion obligations being pursued by the DOE. Leviste is also facing a separate set of legal troubles before the Office of the Ombudsman. Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla had said Leviste, his mother Senator Loren Legarda, and former energy secretary Alfonso Cusi were under investigation over plunder and graft allegations involving roughly P10 billion in solar projects, including claims that government approvals and legislative action were used to secure rights over projects later left undeveloped. The allegations have also raised questions over whether Legarda, then chair of the Senate finance committee, used her position to help facilitate her son’s congressional franchise for Solar Para sa Bayan. Legarda has called the accusations “utterly false and baseless,” while Leviste has maintained that Solar Para sa Bayan was separate from SPNEC and was not the company later sold to the Meralco group. – Rappler.com How does this make you feel? Loading