Lethal list

The mysterious list of beneficiaries of “allocables,” or inserted pet projects, which totaled more than P1 trillion in the three years from the 2023 budget under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., may spark public unrest if it is revealed.

This was as much as its bearer, Batangas Rep. Leandro Leviste, would reveal about the contents of the documents entrusted to him by former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Undersecretary Cathy Cabral, the supposed engineer of the allocables racket who recently met a tragic death.

Among the other teasers from Leviste was that many people had DPWH insertions.

Another was the revelation of a number of code names on the list. “It’s not necessarily all people’s names. And it would have been good for Cabral to be the one to explain the codes in the list,” the young legislator averred.

What caught Leviste’s attention was “a Centi20 subsection of P20 billion of projects” that all ended up being awarded to companies linked to Partylist Rep. Edwin Gardiola, a member of the House of Representatives considered to be among the biggest contractors.

He said it appeared there was P20 billion of pre-ordering in the 2025 National Expenditure Program (NEP) and there were other sublists of large amounts.

With Cabral gone, the Batangas congressman said that someone else in DPWH should reveal the nature of the codes. The Cabral list will speed up the investigation process.

Ghost projects are investigated through field inspections because the DPWH lacks internal documentation.

Nonetheless, Leviste said the DPWH may have lost a copy of the revealing documents, since when they visited the DPWH in early September, the office of Cabral had been cordoned off.

Later, the computer that had the file was no longer there. “And it would be fascinating to hear the DPWH’s explanation for why this file had not been given to the ICI or the Ombudsman, who are therefore unaware of who is the proponent of the 421 ghost projects that they are investigating,” according to Leviste.

There are also practical considerations for Leviste not releasing the document, saying it would compromise his role as a district representative, “if I release the list of everyone’s insertions.”

“And I think I owe it to the First District of Batangas not to risk our district’s budget, for example, being slashed if we do something that affects many members of the House,” he added.

“It’s also good to have a constructive relationship with other members in government, because if we’re just going to fight everyone and, quote unquote, burn the house down, then it would be counterproductive compared to if we constructively work with the DPWH, who have said they are for transparency, to be the one to explain this list to the public,” he said.

Thus, the Cabral list that Leviste holds is a deterrent to efforts to manipulate the situation, according to the congressman.

“The DPWH cannot deny that it exists because if they do, then maybe I will then release it. If they don’t release it, they have to explain why they don’t want to release it.”

The complex reality Leviste faces is shared by many in government who want a shift toward transparency.

It would be a lonely uphill battle.