Loren Legarda

Lorna Regina "Loren" Bautista Legarda (born January 28, 1960) is a Filipino politician and former journalist who has served as a senator of the Philippines since 2022, following previous terms spanning from 1998 to 2004 and 2007 to 2019. During her tenure as senator, she served as the president pro tempore of the Senate of the Philippines from 2022 to 2024, and from May 11, 2026, to June 3, 2026. She also served for one term in the House of Representatives from 2019 to 2022.

Legarda has focused her political career towards environmentalism and culture, as well as international engagements with organizations connected with the United Nations, while being criticized as a political butterfly. She and her youngest son, Leandro Leviste, flew and escaped outside the country in August 2026, amid plunder and graft investigations.

Early life Loren Legarda was born on January 28, 1960, in Malabon (then a municipality in Rizal) as Lorna Regina Bautista Legarda, the only daughter of Antonio Cabrera Legarda and Maria Salome Basilia "Bessie" Gella Bautista. Her maternal grandfather was Jose P. Bautista, editor-in-chief of the pre-Martial Law newspaper, The Manila Times.

As a teenager, she appeared as a print and television model. She attended Assumption College from primary to high school. She graduated from the University of the Philippines Diliman in 1981 with a bachelor's degree in Broadcast Communications and was President of the UP Broadcast Association.

Career in journalism and broadcasting Legarda began a career in journalism as a reporter for RPN, during which she covered topics including Imelda Marcos' trip to Kenya and the People Power Revolution. During this period, she obtained a master's degree in National Security Administration from the National Defense College of the Philippines, graduating at the top of the class with gold medals for Academic Excellence and Best Thesis. Later, she would move to the reopened ABS-CBN. She became the co-anchor of the television newscast, The World Tonight with Angelo Castro, Jr., and became the host of the current affairs series, The Inside Story. In February 2018, Legarda and the NCCA launched the Buhay na Buhay television series which focused on eight living sub-cultures of Filipino culture. She also hosts Maaram, a series of documentaries on intangible cultural heritage, which premiered in ANC in 2024.

In December 2017, Legarda and director Brillante Mendoza partnered for a documentary the series, entitled, "Our Fragile Earth: Protected Areas of the Philippines," began airing in ANC on December 8. The series features the Camotes Island Mangrove Swamp Forest Reserve, El Nido Managed Resource Protected Area, Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park (UNESCO World Heritage Site), Sagay Marine Reserve, Mounts Banahaw–San Cristobal Protected Landscape, Rasa Island Wildlife Sanctuary, Coron Island, Mount Hamiguitan (UNESCO World Heritage Site), and Lake Sebu, which is part of the Allah Valley Protected Landscape. The series also features the Banaue Rice Terraces, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the Verde Island Passage.

Political career

1998 Senate bid, first term Legarda ran for the Senate in 1998 under the Lakas-NUCD-UMDP Party. Legarda's running mate, Fernando Poe, Jr., was a strong ally of then-ousted President Joseph Estrada. Legarda previously voted to open the controversial envelope that would have helped in the conviction of Estrada during his 2001 impeachment trial.

On January 18, 2008, in a 21-page resolution, penned by Senior Justice Leonardo Quisumbing, the Supreme Court of the Philippines, acting as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET), dismissed Legarda's electoral protest against de Castro.

2007 Senate bid, second term In 2007, Legarda decided to run again for Senate under the banner of the Genuine Opposition coalition. In her second term as senator, Legarda authored the Expanded Senior Citizens Law, the Climate Change Act, Clean Air Act, Renewable Energy Act, the Magna Carta for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Act, Barangay Kabuhayan Act, the Magna Carta on Women, She co-authored the National Cultural Heritage Act. Aside from her legislative work, she also established the Luntiang Pilipinas (Green Philippines) foundation, an organization aimed to aid the Philippines in attaining its United Nations mandate for reforestation, where the target was set by the UN at 2009. and she participated in the Global Platform on Disaster Risk Reduction, the BBC World Debate: ‘Prevent or React’, and the Forum on the Human Impact of Climate Change in Geneva, Switzerland. In October 2009, the Climate Change Act was passed. She was a member of the Philippine delegation during the 2009 Copenhagen Summit. On October 23, 2009, during the launch of her humanitarian program "Lingkod Loren in Luneta", After Francis Escudero, expected to run for president, left the NPC, she decided that it would be best to stick with the Nacionalista Party's presidential candidate, Manny Villar, as a guest-running mate.

Legarda lost her bid for the Philippine vice presidency to Jejomar Binay, placing third in the 2010 Philippine presidential elections, while her running mate Villar lost to Noynoy Aquino. As a result, she continued her term in the Senate. In 2010, Legarda was given chairmanship for the Senate committees on climate change, cultural communities, and foreign affairs. She would later go to the United Nations to deposit the Philippines ratification for the International Criminal Court membership. As a result of Koko Pimentel's win in his case against Migz Zubiri, Legarda requested the Supreme Court to allow them to retrieve documents that they submitted as evidence for her electoral protest against de Castro for the reopening of the investigation of electoral cheating in the 2004 and 2007 elections.

2013 Senate bid, third term Legarda run for reelection in 2013 under the slate of President Noynoy Aquino, the foe of her running mate, Manny Villar, in the 2010 presidential elections. She won second place after Grace Poe, the daughter of the late Fernando Poe Jr., her 2004 presidential running mate. During the 2013 campaign, she had a major fall-out against Alan Peter Cayetano. After her re-election, she chaired the Senate Committee on Environment and Natural Resource and the Senate Committee on Finance. She was awarded as a United Nations Global Champion for Resilience in 2015 due to her advocacy and actions on climate change and environmentalism. In the 2016 presidential elections, Legarda supported the candidacy of Grace Poe, but later backed the presidency of Rodrigo Duterte after the latter won the elections.

Legarda was one of only 8 lawmakers who were in favor of Gina Lopez retaining the environment secretary post during her confirmation hearing which ousted Lopez from her position. She was absent during the Senate resolution vote which sought to condemn the controversial burial of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos in the Libingan ng mga Bayani in November 2016. She was among the 14 senators who filed a resolution urging the Supreme Court to review its ouster decision in regards to the quo warranto petition against Maria Lourdes Sereno.

In November 2017, she led the Philippine delegation at the 23rd UN Climate Change Conference (COP23) in Bonn, Germany. She was named the first ever National Adaptation Plan (NAP) Champion during the event. Legarda was part of the Philippine delegation during the Paris Agreement discussions. She was named Chevalier (Knight) in the Ordre national de la légion d’Honneur (National Order of the French Legion of Order).

She also focused on the enhancement of Philippine culture and the arts. She pushed for the National Writing Systems Bill, which aimed to institutionalize baybayin and other indigenous writing systems as national writing systems, the National Cultural Heritage Act, and the Department of Culture and the Arts bill, although the measures were not passed into law. On February 7, 2019, a bill which safeguards the 1,446 Gabaldon school heritage buildings of the country, authored by Legarda, was enacted into law.

Legarda filed various indigenous people rights, culture, women's rights, and children's rights bills. Legarda backed the SOGIE Equality Bill in the Senate. She led the Philippine delegation to the United Nations and urged tougher global actions against cybersex and child trafficking.

She supported the Philippine drug war of President Rodrigo Duterte, which has killed at least 30,000 civilians including children, but said that she does not support the police killings of innocent citizens.

She also authored the General Appropriations Act of 2017 and 2018 as Finance committee chair. She co-authored the Philippine Mental Health Law, HIV and AIDS Policy Act of 2018, Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act of 2012, and the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act. She also sponsored the Delimitation of the Exclusive Economic Zone Boundary agreement between the Philippines and Indonesia, which led to its ratification.

In 2018, she controversially lobbied for a billions-worth government solar franchise for her own son, then 21-year-old college dropout Leandro Leviste, while she was chair of the Philippine Senate Committee on Finance. During the lobbying, Leviste's capital was at 1 million pesos, however, after the matter was pointed out, Leviste changed it immediately to one billion pesos, leading to more questions and opposition from former Manila mayor and congressman Lito Atienza, who found the sudden surge in wealth highly suspicious. The franchise was approved in 2019 under President Rodrigo Duterte.

2019 House of Representatives bid, first term

On October 18, Legarda announced that she will run as congresswoman of the lone district of Antique in Western Visayas in the 2019 Philippine elections. Her congressional run went to the court after a local politician argued against her candidacy. On February 6, 2019, the courts officially allowed Legarda to run for congresswoman of Antique province. Legarda was elected as the new congresswoman and representative of the province and district of Antique after the May 2019 elections, where she received a landslide victory against a political dynasty. She assumed the position on July 1, 2019.

2022 Senate bid, fourth term

On October 1, 2021, she filed her certificate of candidacy to run for senator. She ran under the Nationalist People's Coalition, and is part of the Reporma-NPC slate, MP3 Alliance slate, and the UniTeam slate, and she also received a formal endorsement from Rodrigo Duterte.

Legarda supported the presidential candidacy of Bongbong Marcos, son of dictator Ferdinand Marcos, and the vice presidential candidacy of Sara Duterte, daughter of Rodrigo Duterte who launched the deadly Philippine drug war that killed over 30,000 civilians. Her decision led his eldest son, Lorenzo Leviste, to disown her. She won a seat in the 2022 Philippine Senate election, ranking 2nd in the race with 24 million votes, only behind actor and former convict Robin Padilla. She assumed office on June 30, 2022. On July 25, 2022, she held the position of Senate President pro tempore, until she was succeeded by Jinggoy Estrada, a senator previously jailed more than once for plunder. In 2025, she voted to oust senator Chiz Escudero, her former party ally, in favor of senator Tito Sotto, who she convinced to run for the Senate presidency again. However, months later, she betrayed Sotto in favor of Alan Peter Cayetano who she previously had a major fallout back in 2013. Legarda sided with pro-Duterte senators to elect Alan Peter Cayetano as Senate President. Under Cayetano's Senate presidency, she was re-elected as Senate President pro tempore on May 11, 2026, after the controversial Senate shake-up.

Controversies Legarda has been involved in several political controversies during her career, including disputes related to asset disclosure, political alliances, and Senate leadership changes.

Political butterfly Legarda has been accused of being a political butterfly due to her alliance shifting throughout her political career. During the 2001 impeachment trial of President Erap Estrada, Legarda was among senators who voted to open the envelope that would have led to more convictions against Estrada. Estrada would later be jailed for plunder. Three years later in 2004, Legarda allied herself and became the vice presidential running mate of Fernando Poe, Jr., who was the strongest supporter of Estrada. Bost Legarda and Poe lost.

In 2013, Legarda had a fall-out against senator Alan Peter Cayetano, who she later described to senator Sonny Trillanes as a man who she cannot trust. In 2025, Legarda convinced senator Tito Sotto to become Senate president. She voted for Sotto and ousted senator Chiz Escudero, who she previously supported in 2010. A few months later in 2026, Legarda voted to oust Sotto in favor of Alan Peter Cayetano, her political nemesis since 2013. Cayetano afterwards appointed her as Senate president pro-tempore for less than a month, after which she and Cayetano were both ousted by the Gatchalian-Sotto bloc.

Forbes Park and New York property disclosure controversy In 2013, a graft complaint was filed against Legarda before the Office of the Ombudsman over allegations that she failed to declare a Forbes Park property in Makati in her Statements of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN) from 2007 to 2011. The complaint alleged that the property was concealed through a corporation. Legarda denied wrongdoing.

Another questionable property is located in New York City, which did not appear in her 2013 SALN. Legarda's camp later stated that they listed it since her 2007 SALN. Some information appear to contradict records at the New York City Registry of Property Deeds — specifically the cost of the unit, and who exactly owns it. Analysts point out that the actual value listed for her share of the unit does not match the peso vs dollar exchange rate when the property was bought.

In 2013, after allegations of questionable properties and her depiction as a political butterfly were made, Legarda filed Senate Bill No. 366, which sought to increase penalties under the Revised Penal Code for “incriminatory machinations” and acts deemed to constitute malicious intrigue against another person's reputation. The bill failed to be enacted as law.

Open letter from her son during the 2022 elections During the 2022 Philippine elections, Legarda's eldest son, Lorenzo Legarda Leviste, published an open letter criticizing her decision to align politically with the Marcos–Duterte coalition. The letter gained significant attention on social media and in news outlets.

Atienza opposed the franchise initially after learning that the billion-peso franchise was being applied by Legarda's son, who only had one million pesos in capital. After he pointed out the capital issue, Legarda and Leviste changed their capital immediately to one billion pesos, making it more questionable for Atienza as to where they got the one billion peso fund. During the private discussions, Atienza claimed that he realized Leviste never intended to light up remote communities in the Philippines through the solar franchise. Rather, Leviste intended to eventually sell-off the solar franchise to earn billions of profit for him and his mother. Because of this, as well as intense pressure from powerful politicians, Atienza relented but only after he inserted a legal clause which would void the franchise if it were sold or transferred, effectively defeating Leviste's purpose for pushing the solar franchise. The solar franchise was approved in 2019 under the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte.

Later in 2025, it was revealed that Leviste indeed sold-off the solar franchise to earn billions of profit for himself and his family, in violation of the legally-binding clause that Atienza inputted. The Department of Energy imposed a 25 billion fine against Leviste for violating the solar franchise law in January 2026.

On July 31, 2026, the new Ombudsman, Jesus Crispin Remulla, announced a preliminary probe on Legarda and her son, Leandro Leviste, over anomalies concerning the solar franchise, alleging plunder and graft, which are non-bailable once filed at the Sandiganbayan. On August 7, 2026, the NBI confirmed that Legarda and Leviste have left the country, escaping from their plunder and graft cases.

Following the leadership transition, the TOWNS Foundation Inc. released a statement expressing disappointment over her political decisions and urging her to reflect on her public legacy.

The same month, the student council of Assumption College San Lorenzo supported the removal of Legarda's portrait from the school's “Wall of Empowered Women,” citing disagreement with her role in the Senate leadership transition and concerns regarding accountability and democratic processes.

Bribery from Zaldy Co and alleged "flood control scandal" involvement Early in 2026, when Legarda was still a member of the Tito Sotto-led majority, she was named in a joint affidavit submitted to the Office of the Ombudsman by 18 individuals who identified themselves as former security aides of former Ako Bicol representative Zaldy Co in connection with allegations surrounding the government's flood control program. After she supported the ouster of Sotto, and voted for pro-Duterte senator Alan Peter Cayetano as the new Senate President, the 18 aides who first accused Legarda, through their lawyer Levi Baligod, publicly recanted claims that Legarda had received cash kickbacks on June 8, 2026, stating that they had neither seen suitcases of money delivered to the senator nor personally seen her, a complete turnaround from their previous statements. Baligod, a Duterte ally, said that one aide had only witnessed Co entering Legarda's residence and that two suitcases initially prepared for delivery were ultimately not brought to her residence.

After they retracted their accusations against Legarda, the aides afterwards tagged senator Chiz Escudero and others in the scandal after Escudero and his peers previously retracted their support for Cayetano, who was later ousted by the Gatchalian-Sotto bloc.

Organizational affiliations Commissioner, Global Commission on Adaptation (2018)

Accolades Legarda after being awarded by the University of the Philippines, the country's premier educational institution. 1992 Ten Outstanding Young Men (TOYM) from the Philippine Jaycees 2008 Regional Champion for Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaption for Asia and the Pacific by the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction 2019 Award of Distinction by the European Union 2023 “Commendatore” to the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic

Additionally, Legarda has garnered more than 30 awards on the field of journalism since the 1980s.

Personal life In 1989, Legarda married former Batangas Governor Antonio Leviste, who had been convicted of homicide. Their marriage produced two sons: Lorenzo "Lanz" Leviste and Leandro Leviste. Her eldest son, Lorenzo, disowned his mother in 2022 after Legarda supported the 2022 run of presidential candidate Bongbong Marcos, son of dictator Ferdinand Marcos, and his vice presidential candidate Sara Duterte, daughter of Rodrigo Duterte who is in jail in The Hague for crimes against humanity. Her youngest son, Leandro, is the founder and president of Solar Philippines and is embroiled in a plunder and graft controversy together with Legarda. The Marawi Sultanate League bestowed the honorary title of "Bai Alabi" ("Princess") on her. She established the Luntiang Pilipinas (Green Philippines) foundation.

Electoral history