THE Office of the Ombudsman has found Sen. Loren Legarda’s repeated extensions of her travel authority for medical reasons “quite suspicious” and said it is possible she and her son, Rep. Leandro Leviste, could seek asylum in France, spokesman Mico Clavano said Tuesday.
Clavano said Legarda was on what he believed was her third or fourth extension, prompting the Ombudsman to flag her prolonged absence as she faces an ongoing case for plunder before the agency.
“We need to flag that,” Clavano said, adding that the Ombudsman wants to take a cautious approach.
Meanwhile, Leviste obtained a travel authority for a two-month leave from July 26 to Sept. 24, listing several countries he intended to visit.
Asked about reports that Legarda and Leviste were in France, Clavano said seeking asylum was possible, with political persecution being the only possible ground they could invoke.
Clavano said a hold departure order would already be moot and academic because Legarda and Leviste are already outside Philippine jurisdiction.
The Ombudsman is instead considering the cancellation of their passports if their prolonged absence leads authorities to consider them fugitives from justice, he said.
“What we can do, and which I believe the team is already taking concrete steps towards, is the cancellation of the passport in case there are grounds to do so,” Clavano said.
He said the move would be intended to preserve the integrity of the Ombudsman proceedings and any case that may eventually be filed in court.
Clavano also defended the possibility of pursuing the case even without Legarda and Leviste present, saying the Ombudsman has to prepare for the possibility that they will not return to the country.
The Office of the Ombudsman accuses Legarda and her son Leviste of plunder, graft, and conflict of interest for alleged conspiring to secure exclusive, multibillion-peso solar energy franchises through legislative and regulatory influence for projects that failed to deliver electricity as promised.
Clavano said this affected the country’s energy targets and electricity prices, adding that the venture appeared to have become a “paper company.” The Ombudsman is about to issue an order directing Legarda and Leviste to file their counter-affidavits, Clavano said.
