Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Claire Castro on Friday addressed the civil libel case filed against her by Batangas Rep. Leandro Leviste, saying the lawsuit is intended to silence her and prevent her from discussing key issues.
“Ang pagsasampa ng kasong ito ang tunay na paraan para ako ay matigil sa aking pagsasalita at pagtalakay sa mga issue,” Castro told the reporters in a Viber message.
She also raised questions about the motive behind the case: “Ito ngayon ang tanong: Sino ang tunay na nasa likod ng pagsasampa ng kaso laban sa ’kin? Sino ang nais na mabusalan ang aking bibig? Sino ang lubos na makikinabang dito?
Leviste filed the civil libel complaint before the Balayan Regional Trial Court in Batangas, seeking P110 million in damages over Castro’s alleged “libelous statements” regarding his solar energy firms.
The Batangas lawmaker has emphasized that SP New Energy Corp., a company he sold, did not hold any government franchise. This, he said, contradicts Castro’s claims that he sold the franchise of Solar Para sa Bayan Corp. (SPBC).
Castro said she has yet to receive a copy of the complaint and is responding based solely on Leviste’s public statements.
She noted that Leviste himself admitted in a media interview that the source of the claim about the sale of a company with a franchise came from Ombudsman Jesus Crispin "Boying" Remulla.
Castro questioned why Leviste chose not to file a case against Remulla, who she said was the original source of the information.
“Inamin ni Cong. Leviste sa isang interview na ang source ng di umano’y pagbebenta ng company na may franchise ay galing kay Ombudsman Remulla. Pero hindi niya sasampahan ng kaso ang Ombudsman dahil sa ginagalang niya ito at kaibigan ng nanay niya,” Castro said.
“Kakasuhan ba niya ako dahil sa hindi ako kaibigan ng nanay niya at hindi niya ako ginagalang? Can we say that the statements of the Ombudsman are with basis and not maligning while my statements sourced from the Ombudsman are nothing but libelous,” she added.
Castro further said that Leviste himself acknowledged that he is no longer the owner of SPBC, which holds the franchise, after divesting his shares.
“He, himself is the source,” she said.
“Mas mabuting ituon muna niya ang pansin sa mga issues na nilahad ng DOE laban sa Solar PH at sa multang pinataw,” Castro added.
Earlier this week, the Department of Energy (DOE) imposed fines and canceled contracts involving Solar Philippines, citing the company’s failure to deliver more than 12,000 megawatts of promised electricity.
