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Leandro Legarda Leviste
Filipino ecopreneur and politician From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Leandro Antonio Legarda Leviste (born March 18, 1993) is a Filipino businessman and politician who has served as the representative for Batangas's 1st congressional district since 2025. He is the son of former Batangas Governor Antonio Leviste and Senator Loren Legarda. He has also been recognized as the youngest self-made billionaire in the Philippines.[1]
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Leviste founded Solar Philippines in 2013 and listed its subsidiary, SP New Energy Corporation (SPNEC), in 2021, becoming the youngest-ever chairman of a company on the Philippine Stock Exchange.[2] He sold a controlling stake in SPNEC to Manila Electric (Meralco) for P34 billion in 2023.[3] After selling control of SPNEC, Leviste was elected Congressman of the 1st District of Batangas on May 12, 2025 with 268,764 votes, the most votes in any congressional race in the history of Batangas.[4]
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Early life
Leviste was born on March 18, 1993, to Philippine Senator Loren Legarda and former Batangas Governor Antonio Leviste. In 2003, Leviste was featured as a gifted child in a Wyeth's Promil milk TV commercial.[5]
Leviste first became interested in building a solar power business in the Philippines in 2013. He was interning at Meralco during a summer break from Yale University, where he was studying political science. Leviste was intrigued by Elon Musk’s companies Tesla, Inc. and SolarCity, which led him to feel there was an opportunity at home to supply solar power more cheaply than what Filipinos were paying for electricity generated from fossil fuels.[6]
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Business career
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In 2013, Leviste founded Solar Philippines, a company wholly owned by Leviste. Solar Philippines completed the Calatagan Solar Farm in 2016 and began operating its Tarlac solar farm in 2019. In 2021, Solar Philippines subsidiary SPNEC became the first-ever solar company to IPO in the Philippines, and Leviste became the youngest Chairman and CEO in the history of the Philippine Stock Exchange.[7]
Meralco invested P15.90 billion in primary shares of SPNEC for the construction of SPNEC’s 3500 MW Meralco Terra Solar Farm in Nueva Ecija, the world’s single largest solar-battery project. In 2024, SPNEC, under Meralco’s leadership, was able to raise the funding from banks and foreign investors for the P200 billion project, including the largest foreign investment for an infrastructure project in Philippine history.[8]
Between 2023 and 2025, Leviste sold 14.60 billion shares of SPNEC to Meralco from Leviste for P18.26 billion and 1.84 billion shares of SPNEC to public shareholders for P2.23 billion. In total, Leviste has sold 16.44 billion shares for P20.49 billion. After these transactions, Leviste still owns 8.16 billion shares of SPNEC.[9]
Leviste has invested in media by buying a 10% in media giant ABS-CBN Corporation, making him its largest shareholder after Lopez Inc.[10] Through Countryside Investments Holdings Corporation, Leviste has also announced plans to invest P5 billion in Roxas Holdings, Inc., the parent company of Central Azucarera Don Pedro, Inc.[11][12]
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Political career
Leviste won a historic landslide as Batangas 1st District Representative in the 2025 elections. Leviste won 268,764 votes, or 75% of the total, defeating incumbent Congressman Eric Buhain, who received 91,588 votes. This marked the highest percentage won against any sitting member of Congress nationwide in the 2025 elections and the most votes ever recorded in any congressional race in the history of Batangas.[13]
Leviste’s win also marked the first-ever electoral defeat of Eric Buhain, the husband of former Congresswoman Eileen Ermita-Buhain, whose family has held the position of Batangas 1st District Representative for 30 years. It is the first time since 1972 that the district has elected a representative outside the Ermita or Apacible families. Campaigning on the message “Paunlarin Natin Ang Unang Distrito”, Leviste called for greater support from the national government for the development of Western Batangas.[14]
On the first day of his term on June 30, 2025, Leviste filed House Bill No. 27 to provide a monthly allowance of P1,000 to every Filipino student, from kindergarten to college, regardless of their socioeconomic status.[15]
References
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