MANILA, Philippines – Batangas 1st District Representative Leandro Leviste has left the board of directors of Terra Solar Philippines (MTerra Solar), the company building the world’s largest solar and battery storage facility.

In a statement, MTerra announced that Leviste left the board on Wednesday, January 21, as part of a reorganization of its board of directors as the company prepares to inject power from its flagship solar project into the national grid.

The MTerra Solar Project, a joint venture between Meralco PowerGen Corporation (MGEN), then-SP New Energy Corporation (SPNEC), and British investment firm Actis, aims to generate up to 3,500 megawatts-peak of solar power. It will also house a 4,500 megawatt-hour battery energy storage system.

Emmanuel Rubio, president and chief executive officer of MTerra Solar’s parent firm MGEN, will replace Leviste on the board.

“The transition marks a natural progression for MTerra Solar as it approaches commissioning. Strengthening board leadership at this stage ensures closer alignment between strategic oversight, system integration, and operational execution as we move toward delivering clean, reliable power to the grid,” Rubio said.

MTerra Solar said its 500-kilovolt substation was recently linked to the Nagsaag-San Jose 500-kilovolt transmission line, and is set to begin energization this quarter.

Leviste’s exit from the MTerra Solar — an SPNEC subsidiary — also comes amid heightened scrutiny over his business empire.

Energy Secretary Sharon Garin earlier called out Leviste over the conflict of interest surrounding his failure to divest from Solar Philippines before he was elected. Solar Philippines is the parent firm of SPNEC, which is seeking to rebrand as MGen Renewable Energy Holdings.

Garin cited the 1987 Constitution, which says that a Senator or member of the House of Representatives should not “directly or indirectly, be interested financially in any contract with, or in any franchise or special privilege granted by the government during his term of office.”

However, Leviste said there was no issue with his continued ownership of Solar Philippines since this was declared in his Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth.

The Department of Energy also fined Solar Philippines P24 billion for failing to deliver some 12,000 megawatts in renewable energy projects that were due to come on stream between 2024 and 2025.

MGEN completed its takeover of SPNEC in 2024 after injecting a P15.9-billion investment. Leviste also sold his controlling stake in SPNEC to Pangilinan in October 2025 for P13.8 billion but remains vice chair of SPNEC’s board.

The Ombudsman also accused Leviste of making billions from supposedly selling a congressional franchise through the SPNEC sale. But Leviste has since denied allegations, as Solar Para sa Bayan — another Solar Philippines subsidiary that was granted a congressional franchise — stopped operations in 2022.

He clarified that the SPNEC was a separate entity from Solar Para sa Bayan, and the former has no congressional franchise.

– Rappler.com