Batangas 1st District Rep. Leandro Legarda Leviste thanked the Anti-Money Laundering Council and the Court of Appeals (CA) on Wednesday, January 7, following the issuance of a freeze order on bank accounts allegedly linked to Edwin Gardiola and members of his family.
Leviste said the development marked a major step in his long-standing call to investigate Gardiola over companies that secured government projects in Batangas, particularly within his congressional district.
“Ito ay mahalagang hakbang tungo sa pananagutan at transparency,” Leviste said, adding that the case underscores the need to account for how public funds are used.
He recalled that on November 18, he personally submitted to the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) the so-called “Cabral Files,” which allegedly detailed more than ₱20 billion worth of DPWH projects that were supposedly “pre-ordered” for companies linked to Gardiola even before Congress approved the 2025 National Expenditure Program.
Leviste, quoting ICI spokesperson Atty. Brian Hosaka, said the ICI formally recommended the filing of charges against the lawmaker before the Office of the Ombudsman within a week after Gardiola’s name was raised before the body.
Leviste earlier released a list dated August 30, 2024 from the office of former DPWH undersecretary Cathy Cabral showing projects later awarded in 2025 to firms allegedly linked to Gardiola, including ₱514.25 million in road projects in Tuy, Batangas and ₱280 million in road projects in Calatagan, Batangas.
Based on his research, Leviste said companies bearing the Gardiola family name have won an estimated ₱42 billion worth of DPWH projects from 2001 to 2025, a figure he said could exceed ₱100 billion if indirectly linked firms are included.
This week, acting on an AMLC petition, the Court of Appeals ordered the freezing of hundreds of bank accounts connected to Gardiola and his family.
Leviste said he hopes the probe will expand beyond Gardiola to include other officials or individuals who may be responsible, as he renewed his call for transparency in government spending.
