A bribery scandal is threatening to shake the foundations of Batangas politics after freshman lawmaker Leandro Leviste openly accused his predecessor, former congressman and Olympic swimmer Eric Buhain, of being at the center of a long-running kickback scheme involving public works projects.
The controversy erupted after a Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) district engineer was caught in an entrapment operation. In what Leviste described as a startling admission, the engineer pointed to the “district congressman” as the ultimate beneficiary of the bribe money—a statement Leviste later confirmed referred to Buhain.
“This is not about one rogue engineer. The engineer himself revealed it like it was common knowledge: every project has a cut, and the district representative is the real big fish,” Leviste said in a hard-hitting interview.
The figures he cited expose the scale of the alleged scheme. Vertical projects such as hospitals and schools reportedly carried a 10 percent “commission,” while horizontal projects—roads, bridges, and other infrastructure—were priced with even higher cuts, ranging from 15 to 20 percent.
Leviste stressed that had he accepted the bribe, taxpayers in Batangas would have been footing an inflated bill while private pockets were lined. “Imagine the damage. Every peso shaved off a project means weaker roads, poorer schools, and hospitals that don’t meet standards. That’s where corruption kills,” he said.
Buhain, who lost his seat to Leviste in last year’s midterms after years of family dominance in the district, has not issued a response. His tenure followed that of his wife, former representative Eileen Ermita-Buhain, daughter of ex-Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita. The Buhain-Ermita family connection had long been viewed as a political stronghold in the province.
Leviste’s revelations cast a spotlight on what watchdogs have warned for decades: that so-called standard operating procedures (SOP) in government projects are more than just “tradition”—they are a parallel system of corruption that inflates costs, compromises infrastructure safety, and erodes public trust.
With Leviste breaking ranks and directly naming his predecessor, the case now forces national attention on a question long whispered but rarely said aloud: how deep does the kickback culture in Philippine public works really go—and how many “big fish” remain untouched?