Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla announced the preliminary investigation on the plunder and graft complaints against Senator Loren Legarda and her son Batangas Rep. Leandro Leviste over the P10 billion worth of what he called "ghost electricity".

In a press conference on Friday, Remulla announced that he signed the charge sheet for the preliminary investigation against Legarda and Leviste.

“Plunder, then (Republic Act No.) 3019, 3(h), 3(i), and 3(e). Conflict of interest is one of them,” Remulla said, referring to the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act sections 3e, 3h, and 3i complaints against Legarda and Leviste.

Former Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi and others are also included in the complaint.

According to the Office of the Ombudsman, Cusi "conspired" to secure an exclusive solar energy contract that created a "virtual monopoly".

"Ombudsman investigators found that numerous exclusive solar energy service contracts were awarded to corporations within the alleged network, but many of the projects were never developed as promised," the Office of the Office of the Ombudsman said in a statement.

"The number of service contracts obtained by Leviste created a virtual monopoly of solar energy projects," it added.

Remulla said Legarda used her position in the Senate to help her son acquire a franchise for solar energy.

"This is ghost electricity. They promised they would produce electricity. In the Philippine Energy Plan, it was published how much solar electricity was supposed to be generated, but they didn't do it. They just sold it and made money out of it," he said.

"What they have done is far small from what they have promised because our energy mix and our energy projections, especially the DOE, rely on projections of how much power we will need as a country. That (energy) mix includes electricity generated by thermal plants, natural gas plants, diesel plants, and solar. Solar power never materialized, which is why our electricity is so expensive," he added.

The Ombudsman also noted that P10 billion is just the worth of the contracts while noting that what the Filipinos lost due to high electricity rates reached hundreds of billions of pesos. Robina Asido/PHS