12/05/2026
Pasensya na kung irita talaga ako sa pa-speech ni Leandro Leviste kahapon sa Labor Day.
Kasi ang dali-dali magsalita tungkol sa manggagawa kapag ang hawak mo ay mikropono.
Ang mahirap ay mag-deliver kapag ang hawak mo ay kontrata, prangkisa, obligasyon, proyekto, trabaho, at pangakong dapat napakinabangan ng ordinaryong Pilipino.
Hindi porke Labor Day, automatic na hero ka na kapag may hawak kang mic at nagsabing “para sa manggagawa.”
Lalo na kung ang record mo mismo sa sariling industriya ay may malaking tanong: nasaan ang trabahong ipinangako? Nasaan ang enerhiyang ipinangako? Nasaan ang benepisyong dapat sana’y naramdaman ng ordinaryong Pilipino?
Leandro Leviste built his image around solar power: clean energy, progress, innovation, future. Maganda pakinggan. Parang campaign slogan na may sunlight filter.
Pero ayon sa Department of Energy, Solar Philippines Power Project Holdings Inc., a company founded by Leandro Leviste, failed to deliver nearly 12,000 MW of committed renewable energy capacity. The DOE terminated 33 service contracts linked to Solar Philippines, covering around 11,427 MW, and has pursued around ₱24 billion in penalties, performance bonds, and other financial obligations.
That is not a small clerical issue.
That is not “oops, na-late lang.”
That is a massive gap between promise and delivery.
And when energy projects fail, it is not the rich who suffer first.
Ang unang tinatamaan ay manggagawa.
The factory worker whose shift depends on stable electricity.
The small business owner whose freezer, lights, machines, and internet depend on affordable power.
The construction worker waiting for projects that never materialize.
The technician, installer, lineman, engineer, driver, security guard, admin staff, and local worker who could have been hired if those projects actually moved.
The ordinary family whose electric bill keeps eating into the salary that was already too small to begin with.
DOE officials said the canceled projects mattered because they were expected to help increase supply and possibly lower generation costs. Reports also said DOE sent notices and show-cause orders, including requests to renew bonds, but the company allegedly failed to properly satisfy the compliance requirements.
So let us be clear: labor is not just about giving speeches on May 1.
Labor is about whether your promises create actual jobs.
Labor is about whether your projects produce actual capacity.
Labor is about whether your business model helps lower the cost of living for workers, or merely uses the language of progress while leaving ordinary people with the bill.
Kasi madaling magsalita tungkol sa “future.”
Mahirap ang mag-deliver.
Madaling magpa-picture sa solar panels.
Mahirap ang magpatayo ng proyekto, magpasuweldo nang maayos, sumunod sa kontrata, mag-renew ng bonds, magbayad ng obligasyon, at panagutan ang pangakong ibinigay sa publiko.
At dito mas lalong sayang ang solar franchise.
A solar franchise should have been a powerful public-interest tool: a chance to bring electricity to underserved communities, create green jobs, build local capacity, support workers, and prove that renewable energy can serve ordinary Filipinos.
Pero kung ang ending ay terminated contracts, undelivered capacity, penalties, and regulatory red flags, sayang na sayang.
Sayang ang tiwala.
Sayang ang oportunidad.
Sayang ang trabaho.
Sayang ang murang kuryente na puwedeng makatulong sa manggagawa.
Sayang ang public mandate na dapat ginamit para magpailaw, hindi para mag-iwan ng tanong.
And this is the problem with many elite politicians who suddenly discover “labor” when it is convenient.
They will post about workers.
They will praise farmers.
They will quote the poor.
They will say “trabaho, trabaho, trabaho.”
Pero kapag sinilip mo ang record, ang tanong ay simple:
Did your work create real employment?
Did your company protect public interest?
Did your promises become actual benefit for ordinary people?
Or was it all branding?
Because workers do not live on branding.
Hindi nakakabayad ng kuryente ang press release.
Hindi nakakabili ng bigas ang PowerPoint.
Hindi nakakahanapbuhay ang pangakong hindi tinupad.
At kung may isang aral dito, ito iyon:
Clean energy is not automatically clean politics.
Renewable energy is not automatically renewable credibility.
And talking about workers does not make you pro-labor if the projects tied to your name allegedly left thousands of megawatts undelivered, billions in penalties, and ordinary Filipinos asking who pays for the failure.
Solar power dapat.
Pero sa issue na ito, ang mas maliwanag ay ang red flag.
Labor Day reminder: huwag tayong magpaloko sa pulitikong gumagamit ng salitang “manggagawa” habang ang sariling record sa trabaho, proyekto, at delivery ay kailangang silipin ng DOE.
Because real pro-labor politics is not measured by speeches.
It is measured by jobs created, wages protected, contracts honored, energy delivered, and public promises fulfilled.
Kung ang pangako ay araw pero ang iniwan ay dilim, hindi iyan progress.
Iyan ay pa-solar na pangako, pero brownout ang resulta.
