Leandro Leviste is taking care of Loren Legarda’s health in France – spox

MANILA, Philippines – Batangas 1st District Rep. Leandro Leviste is currently taking care of his mother, Sen. Loren Legarda, who is undergoing treatment for a lung and autoimmune condition in France, according to the senator’s spokesperson Tony La Viña.

La Viña said this during the Pandesal Forum in Quezon City on Friday when asked about the health condition of Legarda, who has been on medical leave since Aug. 3, a day after she and Leviste reportedly left the country.

READ: ‘Positive’: Matibag says Leviste, Legarda left the country

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“Kasama niya [Legarda] si Leandro, who is the one assisting her sa medical needs niya na family. As you know, Leandro is her main family now, and so yun ang ginagawa nila,” the senator’s spokesperson said.

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(Leandro is with her [Legarda], who is the one assisting her with her medical needs. As you know, Leandro is her main family now, and so that’s what they’re doing.)

La Viña refused to provide further details on Legarda’s condition, but he said the senator has been enduring this for a long time and that “the Senate and the senators know.”

The spokesperson said, “Hindi siya ngayon lang. Matagal na siya, but aggreviated siya when there is stress, when there is tension.”

(It’s not just now. It’s been like this for a long time, but it’s aggravated when there’s stress, when there’s tension.)

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“That is why I think she’s taking the opportunity to have this treated once and for all.”

Will she come back to vote on VP’s impeachment trial?

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As for the question of if the senator will come back to the Philippines for the voting of the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, La Viña pointed out that “November is far away.”

“So I will not rule it out na nandito na siya by November,” the spokesperson said.

(So I will not rule it out that she will be here by November.)

“Ang alam ko sa trial is matatapos na siguro yung prosecution within a week or two. And then may recess sa October to do the budget. And then resume sila sa November. So depende ngayon sa defense, whether they will take one or two months,” he added.

(What I know about the trial is that the prosecution will probably finish within a week or two. And then there will be a recess in October to do the budget. And then they will resume in November. So it depends now on the defense, whether they will take one or two months.)

Legarda’s spokesperson asserted that he believes the senator could vote in the impeachment trial since she had taken her oath and was present during the first part of the proceedings before leaving the country in August.

He also said he believes the senator is still monitoring the impeachment trial from France “as much as she can.”

“So I think under the ruling of Senator [Chiz] Escudero, excluded are those who are absent because of sickness—if absent,” La Viña said.

(So I think under the ruling of Senator [Chiz] Escudero, excluded are those who are absent because of sickness—if absent.)

“She wants to come home. She’s eager to come home,” he also said.

The Senate impeachment court on Wednesday voted to revise the 16-vote threshold needed to convict Duterte, affirming that the constitutionally required two-thirds guilty verdict by “all members of the Senate” applies solely to those “capable of participating.”

Legarda first went on medical leave from Aug. 3 to Aug. 5 and has since sought five more extensions, with the latest one from Oct. 5 to Oct. 9.

READ: Only P80M recovered so far out of Leviste solar firm’s P24-B penalty

Meanwhile, when asked if Leviste would also return to the country if Legarda would go home, La Viña said, “Yes, I suppose so naman.”

(Yes, I suppose so.)

“Kasi nandoon lang naman siya kasama niya yung nanay niya. Ano naman ang dahilan (para hindi umuwi)?” he said. 

(After all, he’s just there with his mother. What reason would there be (not to come home)?)

Legarda, as well as Leviste, reportedly left the country through separate flights on Aug. 2, only a few days after the Office of the Ombudsman revealed that they would face a preliminary probe over P10 billion worth of supposed “ghost” solar power projects. 

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Meanwhile, on Sept. 4, the National Bureau of Investigation filed a non-bailable qualified human trafficking complaint before the Department of Justice against Leviste and six others over a supposed “honey trap” plot against Executive Secretary Ralph Recto, which the congressman has since denied. /jpv