SEN. Loren Legarda on Friday evening confirmed that she filed a medical leave with the Senate covering Aug. 3 to 5, 2026, as she sought to dispel speculation surrounding her recent absence and travel abroad.
In a statement issued Aug. 7, Legarda said her leave was filed in accordance with Senate rules and urged the public not to connect her medical leave or travel to the plunder allegations recently raised against her.
“I ask the public not to draw unwarranted conclusions from my travel or link it to the recent false and baseless allegations, which undeservedly besmirch a reputation that I have built over decades of public service,” she said.
Legarda’s statement did not disclose the nature of her medical condition or treatment, nor did it mention her son, Batangas Rep. Leandro Leviste, who also left the country on Aug. 2, on a separate flight.
She also did not disclose specific travel details or destinations for either herself or her son.
The Bureau of Immigration and the National Bureau of Investigation confirmed their departure shortly after the Office of the Ombudsman initiated a preliminary investigation into complaints involving allegations of plunder, graft and conflict of interest in connection with solar power projects.
Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla said authorities expect Legarda and Leviste to return to the Philippines to face the investigation.
Legarda’s absences have been all the more noticeable as she has also been missing from the impeachment trial against Vice President Sara Duterte, where she sits as a senator-judge.
Legarda said her absence should not be interpreted as evidence supporting the allegations against her, which she said were baseless
Legarda and her son Leviste are being investigated for alleged graft and plunder over a multi-billion-peso "ghost electricity" scheme involving unfulfilled government solar energy contracts.
Authorities allege that Legarda used her legislative position and influence to help her son's renewable energy firm secure exclusive solar franchises and contracts that were ultimately never developed as promised.
The government is investigating whether Leviste used the franchise rights and awarded renewable energy contracts to generate massive profits through corporate sell-offs to the tune of more than P20 billion.
Leviste, however, said no franchise rights were transferred and that Legarda's actions involved no public funds or wrongdoing.
