Malacañang on Monday, December 29, raised doubts over the authenticity and origin of the so-called “Cabral files” presented by Batangas 1st District Representative Leandro Leviste, which allegedly detail questionable allocations in the 2025 national budget.
Communications Undersecretary and Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon has not seen or verified the documents, despite Leviste’s claim that Dizon instructed the late Undersecretary Catalina Cabral to hand them over.
“Sabi po kasi ni Sec. Vince, hindi niya nakikita yung dokumentong tinutumbok ni Congressman Leviste so kung ano man yung Cabral files na ito, hindi po aware si Sec. Vince kung ano ito,” Castro said in a radio interview.
She added that based on Leviste’s own social media posts, the files he received from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) under Dizon’s leadership pertained to the 2026 proposed budget, not the 2025 list.
“What was given to him or what was allowed to him to be given by Secretary Vince ay yung 2026 proposed budget, not the 2025 budget list,” Castro clarified.
Castro also pointed out inconsistencies in Leviste’s narrative, noting that in an October 1 email he cited former DPWH Secretary Manuel Bonoan—not Cabral—as the source of the documents.
“So hindi namin alam kung saan nanggagaling yung sinasabi niya. Siguro dapat mas linawan niya pa kasi nag-iiba po yung kwento e, kung sino nagbigay talaga ng dokumento—Secretary Bonoan, Usec Cabral, when in fact sa email na October 1, 2025, never na-mention yung pangalan ni Usec. Cabral,” she added.