The controversy surrounding the so-called “Cabral files” deepened on Monday after the Office of the Ombudsman cautioned the public against treating circulating copies as conclusive evidence, while Batangas 1st District Rep. Leandro Leviste insisted that he had already shown investigators the full set of records over a month ago.

Assistant Ombudsman Mico Clavano said the Ombudsman is carefully separating verified original records from the copies now spreading online, particularly editable files that could be incomplete or altered.

“The office emphasizes that soft copies of documents held by third parties, especially Word or Excel files, inherently lose evidentiary credibility,” Clavano said. “They are susceptible to alteration, incomplete context, or manipulation.”

Clavano confirmed that Leviste met with Ombudsman investigators prior to the death of former DPWH Undersecretary Catalina Cabral on 19 December, but he said the congressman at the time presented only a partial list of documents.

“During this engagement, Representative Leviste presented only limited portions of the list, responsive to specific inquiries,” Clavano said. “He did not present the entire set of files he claimed to possess even when asked.”

This directly contradicted public statements made by Leviste suggesting that the Ombudsman had already reviewed the full “Cabral files” which included documents allegedly detailing DPWH budget “allocables” and “outside allocables per district” amounting to more than P1 trillion in the 2025 budget.

Leviste, who has been posting images of the files on social media, quickly responded, disputing Clavano’s account and saying the Ombudsman team was shown both the DPWH budget summary and the Excel spreadsheet of the 2025 National Expenditure Program during their 26 November meeting.

Focus on another solon

He said their nearly three-hour meeting focused largely on flood control projects allegedly linked to another lawmaker, Representative Edwin Gardiola, rather than on a deeper review of the files he had prepared.

“I invited the Ombudsman team to go through the file further, but they did not seem too interested,” Leviste said. “Their questions were more about projects linked to Congressman Gardiola. I was the one showing them the file which I said would be helpful to all their investigations.”

According to Leviste, despite an initial postponement, he asked that the meeting proceed as scheduled because he wanted to help the Ombudsman’s probe as much as possible. He said he invited the investigators to return for a more thorough review, but no follow-up meeting took place.

Leviste also took issue with Clavano’s warning about possible file manipulation, arguing that doubts could easily be resolved by comparing copies now in the hands of different parties.

“I believe the simple solution would be to compare, in public, if the files that I have are the same as those reportedly in the possession of Senator Ping Lacson and others,” Leviste said.

Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson has said the documents he received came from Cabral’s lawyer and from the DPWH itself, and that they could be authenticated by officials of the Department of Budget and Management or the DPWH.

Following Cabral’s death, the Ombudsman ordered the DPWH to surrender her files and computer. On 23 December, the agency received Cabral’s CPU and documents, which were immediately sealed to preserve their integrity.

Clavano said the Ombudsman is now preparing for a digital forensic examination of the device, to be conducted transparently and in coordination with the Commission on Audit, the DPWH, and the PNP Anti-Cybercrime Group.

“This will ensure the integrity of the entire process,” he said.

Clavano also stressed that the documents themselves do not automatically point to criminal liability, cautioning against equating alleged budget insertions with corruption.

“An insertion by itself is not illegal,” he said. “It only becomes criminal if it is proven to involve fraud, misuse of public funds, or non-existent projects.”

Leviste, meanwhile, reiterated that he had repeatedly urged the authorities as early as November to secure Cabral’s files and treat her as a key witness in any investigation into DPWH budget practices. He also called on agencies involved in the probe to disclose any relationships or potential conflicts of interest they may have with individuals under investigation.

As the Ombudsman moves closer to examining Cabral’s original digital records, attention now shifts to what the forensic review will reveal — potentially settling questions that leaked copies and public sparring have only intensified.