Leviste reveals Buhain as bribe 'big fish' in district engineer entrapment

Neophyte congressman Leandro Leviste admitted that his predecessor Eric Buhain was the 'big fish' referred to in a bribe attempt by a district engineer arrested during an entrapment operation.

Leviste revealed that the engineer implicated Buhain during their conversation and that accepting the bribe could have involved up to 10 percent of the total project cost.

Buhain, son-in-law of former military general Eduardo Ermita who served under President Arroyo, has yet to respond to The STAR's request for comment.

Leviste, who succeeded Buhain in the last midterm elections, owns assets worth P34 billion from the sale of his solar power firm.

For 'horizontal' projects like roads and 'vertical' projects such as buildings, standard operating procedures typically involve commissions ranging from 15 to 20 percent.