The legal team of the late Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) undersecretary Maria Catalina Cabral said boxes of documents containing information on alleged budget insertions are not in their possession.

In a recent interview with ANC, lawyer Mae Divinagracia said the late DPWH official had previously shown her legal team six boxes of documents, which Cabral later removed from her office.

The documents reportedly pertained to the preparation of the DPWH’s annual budget proposals from 2023 to 2025. Divinagracia said she had instructed Cabral to review the materials and submit any relevant files.

However, Divinagracia said the boxes were never turned over to the legal team before Cabral’s unexpected death.

“That’s what we don’t know, because before she passed on, she was supposed to give it to us. We didn’t know that this is how things will pan,” Divinagracia said.

She added that the documents are also not in the possession of Cabral’s family and that their whereabouts remain unknown.

“I’m not sure. Well, we don’t have it in our possession. The family don’t know where they are, so we don’t know where it’s stashed at the moment,” Divinagracia said.

The so-called “Cabral files” have drawn public attention in recent weeks following Cabral’s death, after she was implicated in alleged anomalies involving flood control projects. Leandro Leviste later claimed to have copies of documents allegedly left by the former undersecretary.

Leviste released portions of the documents on his Facebook page, which he said were sourced from Cabral with clearance from Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon. The lawmaker, however, clarified that the names listed in the documents do not automatically mean those individuals are implicated in any wrongdoing.

Divinagracia said the documents Cabral was supposed to turn over were “ostensibly similar” to those released by Leviste.

“I’ve seen the documents. I’ve gone over some of them. I’ve perused through those documents, and I’ve seen a document ostensibly similar to the document that was released by Congressman Leviste,” she said.

“But I cannot say with absolute certainty that it's the same because I have not seen the entire document that Congressman Leviste claims to possess,” she added, reiterating that her team does not currently have custody of the files.