Leviste: Up to Dizon to order release of dead ex-usec’s files

Batangas 1st District Rep. Leandro Leviste said Sunday that the decision to publicly release files detailing Department of Public Works and Highways budget insertions allegedly handed to him by former Undersecretary Catalina Cabral rests with DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon.

Leviste said he is deferring to Dizon on whether the files — said to list proponents of agency insertions nationwide — should be made public, citing the need to avoid compromising ongoing congressional and investigative work.

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

Leviste first spoke of the files and Cabral’s “formula” on farming out billions of pesos in pork in a roundtable discussion with DAILY TRIBUNE editors last week.

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

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

“When she tendered her resignation, I was worried that the 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 assumed office on 1 September, it was because of his push for transparency that I was finally given the files,” he added.

‘Wide-ranging consequences’

Leviste said the files would have “wide-ranging consequences,” noting that the list of proponents includes not only congressmen and senators but also officials from the executive branch, including sewcretaries and undersecretaries outside DPWH, as well as private individuals.

Despite this, Leviste said he prefers that DPWH determine the timing and manner of any disclosure. He added that since obtaining the files, he has received calls urging him to release them publicly.

Leviste said he would wait for DPWH’s position and act if Dizon instructs him to do so.

“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 said he showed the files to the Independent Commission for Infrastructure on 18 and 19 November and to the Office of the Ombudsman on 26 November, which told him that “the files would be helpful for their investigations.”

Earlier, Assistant Ombudsman Mico Clavano said information had reached the office indicating that Cabral had a list of project proponents and DPWH projects. He said the Ombudsman promptly requested authorities to secure and retrieve Cabral’s gadgets and phone following her reported death.

“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.

Clavano said Cabral, who was involved in several fact-finding investigations, visited the Office of the Ombudsman on 3 December 2025, where an inquiry was conducted to determine what charges could be filed against her so she could prepare.

As this developed, House Deputy Minority Leader and ACT Teachers Partylist Rep. Antonio Tinio called for the immediate release of the so-called Cabral list.

“Such lists could be crucial in establishing the circumstances surrounding Usec. Cabral’s death and identifying all individuals involved in the systematic plunder of DPWH funds,” Tinio said.

Tinio emphasized that the Cabral list must be secured before it can be suppressed or destroyed, and that its contents should be made public to ensure accountability and transparency in the ongoing investigation.

“It is true that Usec. Cabral was a key player in the massive and systematic plunder of DPWH funds. For sure, she knew a lot, could name a lot of names, and the dead tell no tales,” Tinio said.

However, Tinio noted that former DPWH Secretary Manny Bonoan knew even more than Cabral and former undersecretary Roberto Bernardo about the alleged anomalies.

Bonoan left the country on 11 November.

“Yet very early on, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. allowed him to resign and literally walk off into the sunset and out of the country, beyond public scrutiny. He should be brought back and face a thorough investigation,” Tinio said.

“Will the key members of the Marcos Cabinet, such as Lucas Bersamin, Bonoan, and former Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman, be investigated? Or will they continue to be shielded from scrutiny? Is this a genuine anti-corruption campaign or a cover-up?” Tinio said.