A Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) official said the inclusion of senators and congressmen as project proponents in the 2025 budget proposal stemmed from directives issued by former undersecretary Catalina “Cathy” Cabral.

Engr. Peter Paul Cortez, chief of the DPWH Programming Division, testified that Cabral provided both verbal and documented instructions on which names to encode as project proponents in the agency’s database. Among the documents cited was an alleged order identifying former senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla as the initiator of 10 infrastructure projects in the National Capital Region worth P1 billion.

Under questioning by Sandiganbayan Third Division presiding justice Ronald Moreno, Cortez said such instructions were often not formally logged, as staff routinely followed Cabral’s directives without further verification. He added that requests from lawmakers to be listed as proponents were subject to Cabral’s approval.

Cortez also said the DPWH occasionally submitted errata to the House of Representatives to reflect corrections or additional projects consolidated from regional and district engineering offices.

Moreno noted that identifying lawmakers as project initiators is not inherently unconstitutional, but could become a criminal issue if personal gain is proven. Cortez said he had no knowledge of any profiteering tied to the projects.