Ridon, Leviste clash over 2025 budget insertions probe

Batangas Representative Leandro Leviste has called on House public accounts panel chairperson and Bicol Saro Representative Terry Ridon to recuse himself in a House probe into insertions in the 2025 national budget supposedly made by House members, including Ridon's party-list.

Leviste made the call in a resolution he electronically filed on Tuesday, December 23, which directs the House committee on public accounts and other appropriate committees to investigate Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) projects awarded to Bicol Goldrock Construction Corp., GCI Construction and Development Corp., and other companies owned or controlled by Steve and Gigi C. Ibasco, as well as the supposed insertions of Bicol Saro party-list and their connection with Ibasco companies.

“The House of Representatives, through its committees, has the power and duty to conduct investigations in aid of legislation to ensure transparency, accountability, and integrity in the use of public funds. Records of the DPWH indicate that Bicol Goldrock Construction, GCI Construction, and other companies owned or controlled by Steve and Gigi C. Ibasco have been awarded contracts amounting to over P42.3 billion in the Bicol Region, and P4.68 billion in the First District of Batangas,” Leviste said.

He added that in the files of the late DPWH undersecretary Catalina Cabral, Bicol Saro party-list was identified as the proponent of two road projects worth P75 million each.

Leviste then said Ridon should recuse himself from the investigation.

“In order to preserve public confidence and avoid any appearance of conflict of interest, the House of Representatives strongly urge the Chair of the House Committee on Public Accounts to voluntarily step aside, and so the Committee may proceed with hearings involving Bicol Saro Party-list and its alleged insertions,” he said.

In response, Ridon said Leviste should first retract his claim that Ridon made the insertions—a situation that could not have happenes given that the 2025 budget was drafted in 2024 and Ridon was not yet a member of Congress at the time, the Bicol Saro representative said.

“We have to go back to the original sin of Congressman Leviste: he made a grave accusation of insertions on myself. He has to be made accountable for that. Those proposals, insertions, he is talking about, that can be checked in due course. But today, he needs to be made accountable for making a false accusation that I made an insertion in the 2025 budget,” Ridon said in a Zoom press conference.

“We should settle that first before we delve into other topics. He made a false accusation that I made a P150 million insertion on the 2025 budget. The onus is on Leandro Leviste himself. He has to take stock of what he actually said because he cannot make up stories. It goes into his actual credibility. If he can readily accuse someone of having insertions when there is none, how can we actually rely on him to make further disclosures with high credibility?” he added.

Cabral list

Ridon also urged Leviste to release the supposed list of proponents of budget insertions as recorded by Cabral if he, indeed, is after the truth.

“He [Leviste] was the one who said that such a list is too important…[that] the list contains congressmen, senators, private persons, and executive officials. The list is too important and yet he refuses to release it at the soonest possible time [or] as soon as he got it last September. Up until today, he did not want to release the list,” Ridon said in a Zoom press conference.

“If you're a truth seeker, if you really wanted to show the truth and to find the truth and you are in possession of an authentic document, you should have no qualms in releasing it. If he has that list, and that list will change the game on the flood control controversy, he should release it as soon as possible,” he added. — BM, GMA Integrated News