Batangas Rep. Leandro Leviste confirmed Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson’s disclosure last year that the so-called “Cabral files,” documents linked to the late Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Undersecretary Maria Catalina Cabral, indicate several Cabinet officials had “allocables” in the 2025 national budget.
In an interview on DZRH’s Dos Por Dos on Tuesday, Leviste said that at least five Cabinet secretaries and several undersecretaries were listed as having allocables amounting to billions of pesos in the budget, despite not being members of Congress, an arrangement traditionally associated with legislative project requests.
“Alam nating lahat ang mga congressman, senator at iba pang mga nasa lehislatura ay may mga allocable at ito nga ang dapat ireporma pero ‘yan po ay alam na ng publiko,” Leviste said.
“Nabanggit din ni Sen. Lacson na at least 5 Cabinet secretaries and undersecretaries have allocable at ‘yun pa ito lumabas sa publiko at meron din malalaking alokasyon ang ibang mga pangalan dito na hindi po pangalan ng tao kung hindi codenames,” he added.
Leviste added that aside from named officials, the documents also list large allocations under "codenames" rather than specific individuals, making it unclear who the actual proponents were.
He said the situation becomes more troubling when these officials are linked to DPWH-funded projects, particularly flood control projects that have been flagged as anomalous.
“Kung wala namang kinalaman sa DPWH tapos flood control pa ang pinapapondo nila tapos kung maanomalya ang flood control project,” Leviste said.
Leviste declined to name the Cabinet secretaries involved, saying he was advised by senior colleagues to wait for official disclosures from the DPWH, or the Office of the Ombudsman.
“Hinihintay ko sa Blue Ribbon Committee na lumabas [Cabinet secretaries na may allocables] pero ang payo ng mas senior sa akin na hintayin ‘yung DPWH at Ombudsman na ilabas ng opisyal ang impormasyon na ito. Pero gusto ko na lang i-post sa Facebook ‘yung iba,“ the lawmaker said.
He noted, however, that five of those listed are sitting Cabinet officials, while others no longer hold their posts.
According to Leviste, the documents list a total of P721 billion in allocables, most of which are attributed to district congressmen. However, additional proponents—including senators, party-list groups, and other unnamed entities—appear on top of basic allocations.
One of the items listed in the documents is an allocable carrying the codename “OP ES SAP,” with an allocation of P8 billion, according to the major tags in the files.
Leviste said he believed former Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, noting that Bersamin had already denied any involvement and had even called for an investigation, amid speculation that the allocation in question referred to him.
“Ako po ay naniniwala kay ES Bersamin na hindi sila ang nagpalagay ng pondong ito dahil nanawagan sila ng imbestigasyon,” Leviste said.
Meanwhile, among the items listed were P401.3 billion in district allocables, “BINI 10” worth P6 billion, “BIP” on top of P33.4 billion, “Centi 2025” worth P100 billion, “N1 Prio 1” worth P20 billion, non-allocables of P61.5 billion, “OP ES SAP” worth P8 billion, “OT2” worth P21.27 billion, “Sandy” worth P14 billion, senators’ allocables of P20.5 billion, and “SMB/others” worth P25.6 billion.
Leviste said several codenames—such as BINI, F1, Centi 2025, OP ES SAP, and OT2—have been linked in his own research to flood control and other projects allegedly marred by anomalies.
“Hindi dapat natin basta-basta i-set aside na may 8 bilyon na maanomalyang mga proyekto at may kumita dito at hindi natin malaman kung sino ang kumita sa P8 billion na ito,” the Batangas lawmaker emphasized.
As the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee resumed its hearing on the alleged flood control scandal on Monday, January 19, Leviste welcomed the move to authenticate the “Cabral files,” particularly the confirmation made by former DPWH Secretary Manuel Bonoan.
