Malacañang reels from Lacson, Leviste salvos

Malacañang has mounted a firm, albeit “desperate” defense against renewed allegations of large-scale budget insertions in the proposed 2025 national budget, pushing back against claims raised by Batangas 1st District Rep. Leandro Leviste and Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson following the public release of documents known as the “Cabral files.”

Palace Press Officer Claire Castro challenged Leviste to substantiate his claims with verified and authenticated documents, warning that the materials he has circulated could have been altered or fabricated.

“Why should this representation prove the alleged Cabral files he claims to possess,” Castro said, referring to documents Leviste said he had obtained from the late Department of Public Works and Highways Undersecretary Maria Catalina Cabral.

“He has started bragging about them, so it is his responsibility to prove their authenticity,” added Castro, stressing that accusations should not be made public without verification.

Castro said Malacañang would only recognize documents officially authenticated by the DPWH, dismissing lists circulating online as hearsay with no probative value.

She also rejected claims that First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos was involved in infrastructure project insertions, saying there was no proof of this.

The Palace response came after Leviste presented documents (See related story) at a House media briefing alleging that lawmakers received allocations beyond the P401.3-billion “allocable” DPWH budget for 2025.

Leviste said the documents showed pre-determined allocations for district and party-list representatives that appeared in the National Expenditure Program (NEP) even before the formal amendment period.

The congressman claimed the documents included a message dated 10 June 2024 circulated to congressional chiefs of staff, reminding them to submit both their “hard and soft” projects, including specific amounts per lawmaker.

BBM formula

He said the allocation system was based on a formula known as the “Baseline Balanced Managed,” or BBM, parametric formula, which he claimed was shared with him by Cabral during their first meeting.

According to Leviste, budget allocations did not consistently align with population size, land area, or development needs, with some districts receiving significantly larger funding despite having smaller constituencies.

He called for the full disclosure of district-level DPWH budgets to allow the public to judge how allocations were determined.

The lawmaker also alleged that budgetary leverage was used against him, recounting that he received a call regarding his district’s funding while he was holding a press conference critical of the DPWH.

He said the incident reinforced concerns that budgets could be used to pressure lawmakers who questioned the system.

Lacson, meanwhile, warned against what he described as a premature dismissal of the allegations, saying substantial evidence had already emerged during Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearings on anomalous infrastructure projects.

“Instead of pursuing an honest-to-goodness inter-agency investigation… to prematurely dismiss the probable involvement of some members of the Cabinet as hearsay may be interpreted as a euphemism for cover-up,” Lacson said.

He said Senate hearings had produced sworn testimonies and official budget documents that corroborated claims of irregularities, including admissions by resource persons regarding their involvement.

Lacson also cited efforts by the Anti-Money Laundering Council to trace a possible “web of accounts” linked to the alleged plunder of public funds.

Castro countered that the Palace was not dismissing accountability efforts but was merely emphasizing the need for authentication before drawing conclusions.

She said it was “not acceptable” to insinuate that Malacañang was covering up for anyone.