Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon reiterated that he did not authorize Batangas 1st District Representative Leandro Leviste to obtain documents from the computer of the late Public Works Undersecretary Catalina Cabral using a flash drive.
In a television interview, Dizon said he does not possess a copy of the so-called “Cabral files” and stressed that the alleged retrieval of documents was done without his approval.
“Kasi nga, ang report nga sa akin is kumuha siya doon sa computer na obviously, hindi naman authorized yun,” Dizon said when asked why Leviste had copies while he did not.
Dizon clarified that he only allowed Leviste to request public records related to infrastructure allocations per congressional district, stressing that these documents are publicly accessible.
“Tinawagan po ako ni Undersecretary Cabral. (She was) a little stressed kasi nga pinipilit daw po silang magbigay ng dokumento. Sabi ko, ‘Anong dokumento?’ Allocations per district. Then I say, isn’t that public document? I mean, that’s public knowledge,” he said.
“Kung meron yung National Expenditure Program, that’s published, that’s on the internet. Yung GAA (General Appropriations Act), kung GAA yan, yung budget ng 2025, public document din po yan. At nandyan naman po ang lahat ng proyekto kada distrito kasi line item naman po yan. So, sabi ko, wala pong problema doon,” he added.
The DPWH chief said the same documents had already been submitted to both the Senate and the House of Representatives, but emphasized that accessing files directly from Cabral’s computer was a different matter.
“As far as getting files in the computer, ibang usapan yun. Kasi nalaman ko na lang yun after the fact. Nung nangyari na, I got a report na yun nga, may mga files na kinuha which have also been disclosed and corroborated by the staff,” he said.
Dizon confirmed that the files are now under the custody of the Office of the Ombudsman as part of its ongoing investigation into alleged corruption within the DPWH.
“And they have custody of the files. What to do with those files, it is really up to them,” he said.
He added that he does not know which documents or how many files were allegedly taken.
“Hindi ko alam, to be honest, kung ano ang mga nakuhang files. Kasi hindi din alam ng mga staff,” Dizon said.
According to Dizon, the computers involved are set to undergo forensic examination to determine whether any files were altered after the flood control controversy surfaced.