MALACANANG yesterday challenged the authenticity of the so-called “Cabral list” released by Batangas Rep. Leandro Leviste and the purported “DPWH leaks” reported by Bilyonaryo News Channel, tagging them as rumors unless substantiated by those who made them public.
Presidential Communications Office Undersecretary Claire Castro asserted that the Palace cannot give credence, or even recognize the alleged Cabral documents for lack of proof they originated from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
In a related development, Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson said it was too early for Malacañang to dismiss reports of budget insertions as hearsay, especially with significant evidence already emerging from hearings of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee.
“It is nothing but hearsay and can be treated as mere fabricated documents,” she said in a statement.
“The alleged Cabral files or the DPWH leaks are still questionable… Unless the documents come from DPWH, we could not give the alleged Cabral files or any list from an unknown source any probative value,” she added.
The Palace’s response follows a report alleging that the First Lady was linked to supposed ghost flood control projects in Isabela, allegedly tied to more than P100 million in insertions reflected in the so-called DPWH leaks.
Castro stressed that, based on available information, no one can even establish that the projects cited in the alleged lists were approved or implemented.
Furthermore, she stressed that it was not Malacañang’s or any other official’s responsibility to authenticate the list cited by Leviste, who also alleged that members of the Cabinet were linked to supposed insertions in public works allocations.
“Why should this representation prove the alleged ‘Cabral’s files’ he claims to possess?” the Palace official asked.
“He has started bragging about them, so it is his responsibility to prove their authenticity,” she added.
Castro was responding to Leviste’s remark urging the Palace to verify with Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon the genuineness of the list the legislator posted online.
“Before anyone speaks and accuses someone, they should substantiate their claims with verified facts and documents,” she said.
“These are his own allegations. He should not order or obligate others to prove what he is claiming,” Castro stressed.
Meanwhile, Leviste has yet to present authenticated copies of the documents he claims support his allegations.
Lacson, chairman of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, called for a thorough and impartial investigation into allegations linking several Cabinet officials to questionable infrastructure allocations involving the DPWH.
“Instead of pursuing an honest-to-goodness inter-agency investigation by using whatever probative value was unearthed mainly from the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearings, to prematurely dismiss the probable involvement of some members of the Cabinet as ‘hearsay’ may be interpreted as a euphemism for ‘cover-up,’” Lacson argued.
