Batangas 1st District Rep. Leandro Leviste has called for an investigation into more than P8 billion worth of Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) projects, some of which were labeled “OP (ES/SAP),” contained in what has come to be known as the “Cabral files.”

Leviste said the files of the late DPWH undersecretary Maria Catalina Cabral, the existence of which he disclosed days before the New Year, listed 75 DPWH projects. 

About 60 percent of the projects involved flood control or slope protection works, while the other 40 percent covered road and streetlight projects.

The projects, spread across Metro Manila and nearby provinces, collectively amounted to more than P8 billion under the DPWH in the 2025 National Expenditure Program, the national budget proposed by the Office of the President (OP).

The tag “OP (ES/SAP)” appeared repeatedly in the documents as the supposed proponent of the projects. 

The tag may turn out to be the smoking gun that would link Malacañang to the anomalous flood control projects. 

The Cabral files were obtained by Leviste who shared them on his social media account.

The acronym resembles references to the Office of the President (OP), Executive Secretary (ES), and Special Assistant to the President (SAP) — though Leviste said no official explanation had been provided to him.

“There is still no clear definition of what OP (ES/SAP) stands for,” said Leviste, adding that it may refer to offices rather than specific individuals.

“It may refer to offices, not necessarily to people,” he said.

Categorical denial

Leviste said he did not believe the tag referred to former Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin.

“I believe this does not refer to former Executive Secretary Bersamin because I personally asked them, and they said they had no knowledge of this and fully supported an investigation to determine who was responsible,” he said.

Bersamin has also come out to “categorically” deny any involvement with the funds tagged “ES.”

President’s initials

Leviste earlier disclosed what he said was a formula shared with him by Cabral — the “Baseline Balanced Managed” or BBM parametric formula — an acronym that drew attention because of its similarity to President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s initials.

Leviste said the documents raised serious questions about how projects were inserted into the national budget and who authorized them.

One project he highlighted was a nearly P300-million streetlight project along the Tagaytay–Nasugbu Highway in his own district, awarded to New Rich General Contractor Services & Trading Co. Inc. 

The project, worth P280,816,956, translated to about P233,624 per streetlight — nearly five times the regular market price, according to Leviste.

“It is hard to say that there were no anomalies in that project,” he said.

Multiple copies

Leviste said he decided to make the list public after learning that multiple entities already possessed copies of the same documents.

“Since many people already have copies of these files — within the DPWH, the Office of the Ombudsman, officials such as Senate President Pro Tempore Ping Lacson, and even members of the media — I believe the complete files will eventually be made public,” he said.

He added that he obtained another copy of the Cabral files from a separate source and verified that it matched the version in his possession.

The congressman said he would defer to senior lawmakers in both chambers to pursue a formal investigation into who or what “OP (ES/SAP)” meant in the DPWH budget.

In response, Special Assistant to the President (SAP) Antonio Lagdameo Jr. has denied claims that his office is involved in DPWH projects.

“The OSAP is not an implementing agency. It has no technical mandate to identify infrastructure projects, nor does it exercise line-item authority over the DPWH’s internal budget listings. Any claim or insinuation suggesting otherwise is unfounded, false, and misleading,” he said.

He added that the office of the SAP is compelled to address the issue as it is being implicated repeatedly in matters in which it is not involved.

“Similar attempts to invoke the name of the Special Assistant to the President, or the Office itself, have surfaced repeatedly. The continued misuse of the SAP’s name or office - whether to suggest influence, involvement, or endorsement where none exists - is improper, irresponsible, and must stop,” Lagdameo said.

Lagdameo stressed that the “overeagerness to exact accountability cannot justify recklessness.”

Probe of Leviste urged 

Meanwhile, Palace spokesperson Undersecretary Claire Castro called for an investigation into how Leviste obtained the files, even as a video has circulated online showing him walking with the late Cabral in the DPWH offices.

Cabral, the police have maintained, fell to her death, without signs of foul play, in Tuba, Benguet, last month.

“I will let the veterans in Congress and the Senate lead the investigation. It is important to know who the OP (ES/SAP) funding source is, because anomalies do not just appear out of nowhere without explanation in our budget,” the congressman, a son of Senator Loren Legarda, said.

Overpricing, insertions

Leviste also urged the DPWH to release the complete set of project documents to dispel doubts about their authenticity and prevent speculation that information was being withheld.

Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon has refused to authenticate the files and engaged Leviste in an exchange of claims and counterclaims.

“I believe the DPWH itself should release all the files to the public, so questions about legitimacy can be addressed and explanations given at the earliest possible time,” Leviste said.

“Those of us who have copies of the files can then confirm whether what was released matches what we have,” he added.

Earlier, the Office of the Ombudsman, through Assistant Ombudsman Mico Clavano, cautioned the public against treating third-party copies of the Cabral files as definitive, warning that documents sourced from outside official custody could have been altered or were incomplete.

Cabral, who had handled the flood control projects, had been linked to alleged anomalies in DPWH-funded works before her death. 

The emergence of the files has renewed the scrutiny into flood control spending — which had long been flagged by auditors and lawmakers as vulnerable to overpricing, insertions and political influence.

Palace link

For Leviste, the issue goes beyond individual projects.

“This is about transparency, accountability, and knowing who really controls what goes into the national budget,” he said.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. himself, after reprimanding members of Congress for the ghost or substandard flood control projects, was linked by expelled representative Zaldy Co to alleged kickbacks from DPWH projects.

Co, who has refused to come home from abroad, claimed to have delivered billions in kickbacks to the residences of the President and his cousin, former speaker Martin Romualdez.