The late Public Works undersecretary Catalina Cabral did not hand over to her family or legal team boxes of documents that may contain information on budget insertions, her lawyer said Monday.
Lawyer Mae Divinagracia told a television interview that Cabral had shown them six boxes of files taken from her office, covering the Department of Public Works and Highways’ (DPWH) budget proposals from 2023 to 2025.
She said she advised Cabral to submit only relevant documents, but clarified the boxes were never surrendered.
Asked about their whereabouts, Divinagracia replied: “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 [out].”
She added, “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.”
Cabral, tagged in the flood control corruption scandal, was found dead last month after allegedly dying by suicide along Kennon Road in Benguet.
Divinagracia also said Cabral confirmed during an Ombudsman interview that Batangas 1st District Representative Leandro Leviste obtained documents from her office.
“But for prudence’s sake, she could not authenticate the document until she is presented with the actual document that is with Congressman Leviste,” she noted.
The missing files add another layer of uncertainty to ongoing probes into alleged budget irregularities.