Calalo denies graft charges; Leviste dares DPWH engineer to name contractors

Department of Public Works and Highways - Batangas 1st District Engineer Abelardo Calalo submitted Friday his counter-affidavit and denied the graft and corruption charges filed against him by Batangas Representative Leandro Leviste.

In a statement, Calalo said that the accusations were founded on “a twisting of truth” and claimed that it was part of a political agenda.

He said that he had only been working in the Batangas 1st District Engineering Office for around one year and first met Leviste in December 2024.

Calalo claimed that after the May 2025 elections, he had a meeting with Leviste, Uswag Party-list Rep. Jojo Ang and Senator Loren Legarda where they discussed the proposed 2026 budget for the 1st District of Batangas, among others. He said Legarda told him to "take care" of her projects in the district, together with Ang.

He said on May 28, 2025, he had a meeting with Ang where they discussed plans to "take care" of the projects. He claimed Ang instructed him to collect donations from the contractors with existing DPWH projects as a show of support for the projects and programs of Leviste.

He added that on July 31, 2025, Leviste told him that he will have some of his staff stationed at the DPWH official's office.

"Multiple staff members of Congressman Leviste came and scrutinized all the documents they could get their hands on, took photos of them without permission and had even demanded from my staff specific documents as if they are in a witch-hunt. They likewise took files pertaining to specific projects,” Calalo said.

He said he realized later on that Leviste does not trust him and suspects that he was being influenced by former congressman Eric Buhain. 

Calalo added that he met Ang again on August 5 to discuss the supposed donations from the contractors. 

"In our meeting, he reiterated that I should encourage contractors to make donations. He clarified that the donation is simply meant to show support to the projects of complainant Cong. Leviste and nothing more. Considering that complainant is known to be a billionaire, Cong. Jojo Ang even told me that if he refuses the donation, we would simply return the amount collected to the contractors," he said. 

He said Leviste visited him in his office on August 14 and told him to reveal contractors awarded with projects by Buhain. He said he has not personal knowledge about it. 

Calalo said on August 21, Ang allegedly called him to follow up on the supposed donations of contractors to which he replied only one contractor gave money. He said Ang called him back and instructed him to schedule and appointment with Leviste. 

He said that during the August 22 meeting with Leviste, the lawmaker tried to extract information on contractors and their links to Buhain.

When he said he didn’t know, Calalo said Leviste asked him about the supposed contributions from the contractors and how much it would be if it reached 10% to which he replied P360 million and P180 million at 5%.

He said Leviste asked him if he brought it with him and ordered him to get it. 

He said he went downstairs to get the money from his car then went up again to the office of Leviste but the lawmaker said they should go downstairs before he could hand him the donations. Calalo said minutes later, police arrived and arrested him.

“The donations that I had collected meant for the projects of the Cong. Leviste were seized by the police without being touched, much less received by him. For the record, I vehemently deny that I had tried to offer money to Cong. Leviste in exchange for some favor. I likewise vehemently deny the statements he had specifically attributed to me in his Complaint-Affidavit relative to the alleged corrupt practices involving the contractors and the former Congressman Eric Buhain,” Calalo said.

He added Leviste knows that "there is no truth to the imputations he made against me, including his allegation that I allegedly exposed to him the corrupt practices in our district… This is a case of instigation and not entrapment.”

“Although I do not doubt the valiant efforts of Congressman Leviste to thwart the corrupt practices that he perceives to exist within our district, I respectfully beseech him to still observe candor and fairness and see to it that ordinary individuals shall not be reduced as dispensable instruments that can be coerced into submission to serve what is supposed to be a legitimate cause,” he said.

Leviste responds

In a Facebook post, Leviste said the cash came with a receipt of three contracts totaling P104,230,000 with a note of “3% 3,126,900.00”.

He said that the contracts were awarded to one contractor from Lemery, Batangas, who had already left the country.

"It seems DE (Calalo) omitted from his affidavit that he named another contractor who was willing to give an initial P15M and that he spoke with many others who were also ready and willing na magpadala ng 'suporta'. DE should not divert attention away from the contractors," said.

Leviste said to show that he is not covering up for them, Calalo should admit the list of contractors and project proponents "whom he told me were also ready and willing to give support and how contractors are selected for projects in the 1st District of Batangas."

“We’re focused on the facts. Inaamin niya na kumolekta siya ng pera sa mga kontraktor para ibigay sa akin. Sabi lang niya donation nito pero ang pera naman ay may kasamang resibo. At kung sinasabi niya na may political agenda ang pagbubunyag na ito, then I would like to think na ang agenda po is linisin natin ang DPWH 1st District ng Batangas,” Leviste told reporters.

(He admitted that he collected money from contractors to give to me. He said it was a donation but the money came with a receipt. And if he is saying that this revelation has a political agenda, then I would like to think that the agenda is to clean up the DPWH 1st District of Batangas.)

“And now, he is mentioning a congressman, whom he never mentioned once in my conversation with him. I can tell you with a straight eye, in my meeting with him, he did not mention that name once,” Leviste added.

GMA News Online also reached out to Ang and Legarda for their comment and will publish it once available.— Jiselle Anne Casucian and Llanesca Panti/AOL/VBL, GMA Integrated News