Leviste says Cabral handed him files on DPWH budget insertions

Batangas 1st District Representative Leandro Leviste on Sunday claimed that former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Undersecretary Catalina Cabral handed him files allegedly containing a nationwide list of proponents behind agency budget insertions.

In a Facebook post, Leviste said the files were given to him on September 4 after DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon instructed Cabral to release them in the interest of transparency.

Secretary Dizon earlier told the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee on September 18 that Cabral had tendered her courtesy resignation amid her alleged implication in anomalies involving flood control projects.

Leviste said he had been requesting district-level budget data since May and first met Cabral on 11 June. A written follow-up was later sent to DPWH on 11 August.

“When she tendered her resignation, I worried that files might get lost, so I set a meeting at her office through Director Alex Bote on September 4,” Leviste said.

“To give credit to Sec Vince who had assumed office on September 1, it was because of his push for transparency that I was finally given the files,” he added.

According to Leviste, the documents could have “wide-ranging consequences,” noting that the list of proponents allegedly includes not only members of Congress but also senators, executive officials such as secretaries and undersecretaries outside DPWH, as well as private individuals.

Despite possessing the files, Leviste said he prefers that DPWH itself decide whether to make the documents public to avoid compromising his legislative work. He added that since he obtained the files, many individuals had reportedly asked Cabral to release them publicly.

Leviste said he would wait for DPWH’s position on the matter and follow any directive issued by Secretary Dizon.

“In light of recent events, my immediate concern is that DPWH personnel who have copies of these files are kept safe and that all such files are preserved,” he said.

Leviste also disclosed that he showed the files to the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) on November 18 and 19, and later to the Office of the Ombudsman on November 26, which he said acknowledged that “the files would be helpful for their investigations.”

Earlier, Assistant Ombudsman Mico Clavano said the Office of the Ombudsman had received information indicating that Cabral kept a list of DPWH project proponents.

“There is several information that has reached us that she has a list of these proponents and the projects, so this was a subject of inquiry that was conducted by the Office of the Ombudsman,” Clavano said on Friday.

Clavano added that Cabral, who had been involved in multiple fact-finding investigations, visited the Office of the Ombudsman on 3 December. At the time, authorities only conducted an initial inquiry to determine possible charges that could be filed against her.