Senate Deputy Minority Leader Rodante Marcoleta challenged the role of Batangas 1st District Representative Leandro Leviste in the ongoing Senate probe into the alleged flood control scandal, arguing that the lawmaker is not qualified to explain the contents of the so-called “Cabral Files.”
Marcoleta stressed that Leviste had no involvement in the preparation of the documents within the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), and therefore cannot testify on their substance.
“If the good congressman will be the one to identify or talk about the contents of the files, I don’t think that he is competent because he is not part of DPWH. He’s not even the staff of DPWH. He has nothing to do with the preparation of the entries, the consolidation of the reports. He has no personality to testify,” Marcoleta said.
He added that Leviste’s testimony should be limited only to how he obtained the files from the office of the late Public Works Undersecretary Catalina Cabral.
“I think what he can testify is limited only on how he was able to obtain the files from DPWH particularly from the office of Usec. Cabral. From a legal standpoint, it is not proper for the congressman to identify or make any explanation as to the contents of the files,” Marcoleta added.
Marcoleta further revealed that some DPWH officials have allegedly refused to authenticate the documents.
The issue surfaced after Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo “Ping” Lacson asked Leviste to disclose the second batch of papers authenticated by Public Works Undersecretary Ricardo Bernabe.
“‘Yun ang nire-refer ko na puwedeng i-discuss based on his own analysis,” Lacson said.
Leviste appeared before the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee on January 19, where the “Cabral Files” were examined for alleged budget “insertions” in the 2025 national spending plan.