The Office of the Ombudsman and Malacanang raised concerns over the so-called “Cabral files” now in the possession of Batangas Rep. Leandro Leviste, noting that the documents may have been manipulated and remain subject to verification.
Assistant Ombudsman Mico Clavano said investigators from the Office of the Ombudsman approached Leviste after he claimed to have received a complete list from Cabral but he “did not present the entire set of files he claimed to possess, even when asked to do so.”
Clavano said this happened when Cabral was still alive and was already represented by a lawyer in the investigation into anomalous flood control projects.
“Congressman Leviste presented only limited portions of the list, responsive, in fairness, to specific inquiries,” he said.
“We reiterate that the shared objective of all concerned institutions and even individuals should be very clear at this point. We need to establish facts, we need to uphold transparency, and we need to hold accountable any individual found to have committed any wrongdoing. So, all our actions must lead to these,” Clavano added.
Palace Press Officer Claire Castro, for her part, said Leviste’s own social media post that what he requested for and received from the DPWH under Secretary Vince Dizon were budget-related filed for 2026.
But as for the supposed “Cabral list” on the DPWH’s 2025 budget which Leviste said was given to him by the late public works undersecretary in September, Castro said this has neither been seen nor authenticated by Dizon.
“What was given to him or what was allowed to him to be given by Secretary Vince is the 2026 proposed budget, not the 2025 budget list,” she said.
She said based on Leviste’s own social media post on his Oct. 1 email to Dizon, it was former DPWH chief Manuel Bonoan who gave the files to him and there was no mention of Cabral.
“So we don’t really know where his (Leviste’s) narrative is coming from. Perhaps he should clarify this because the details keep on changing. Who really gave him the document? Secretary Bonoan? Usec Cabral? When in fact in his Oct. 1, 2025 email, he never mentioned the name of Usec. Cabral,” the Palace official added.
Clavano, for his part, said the most reliable source of documents are the agencies and individuals who had custody, control, and authorship of the computers, the storage devices and the files themselves.
“Evidence that is derived directly from these sources will naturally carry far greater evidentiary value than copies that are circulating outside official custody,” he said.
In a statement sent to ABS-CBN News, Leviste said he mentioned Bonoan’s name in the email because the former Public Works Secretary had earlier shown him a copy of the allocables list but did not give him a copy.
He said this was the reason why he approached Cabral to get the actual files.
“Sec Bonoan previously showed me a hard copy, which I mention because it’s why I knew this was an authentic file in the possession of multiple people in DPWH,” Leviste said.
He also downplayed the statement of the Assistant Ombudsman that he submitted merely a portion of the supposed “Cabral files.”
“Assistant Ombudsman Clavano was not part of (the team during the Nov. 26 meeting), so it would be best for the people in the meetings to speak for themselves. I presented to the Ombudsman both the DPWH summary and Excel spreadsheet of the 2025 NEP during our meeting, which lasted from around 9:10 a.m. to 12 p.m.,” Leviste said in a social media post.
“I invited the Ombudsman’s team to go through the file further, but they did not seem too interested,” he added.
Meanwhile, former Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin rejected claims he had P8.3 billion in “allocable” funds in the 2025 DPWH budget as cited in the “Cabral files,” calling the allegation outrageous.
Bersamin said he did not request, endorse, approve, or authorize any DPWH projects.
“I emphatically state that I did not ever request, endorse, approve, or authorize any DPWH project or budget allocation at any stage of the budget process. I also deny having instructed anyone, whether inside or outside of the government, to use my name or that of my former office for any such purpose,” he said.
Bersamin further called on investigative bodies to prioritize this issue, saying it undermines the integrity of the national budget.
“This incident only serves to raise more questions about the deeply flawed budget process followed at the DPWH. I strongly urge that the so-called Cabral files should be thoroughly scrutinized to unmask those behind the budget manipulation,” he added.
