DPWH pressed: Release, explain 'Cabral files'

Batangas 1st District Rep. Leandro Leviste on Monday called on the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to release to the public and explain the contents of the computer files supposedly provided to the lawmaker by its former undersecretary Maria Catalina Cabral prior to her death.

In a Super Radyo dzBB interview, Leviste said the computer files, which reportedly contain information on proponents involved in DPWH budget insertions, should also be turned over by the agency to the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) and the Office of the Ombudsman.

“Maganda sana kung ang DPWH ang maglabas nito para puwede rin silang magpaliwanag. Kasi sa napakaraming datos dito, mas maganda kung may paliwanag din para sa mga datos na ito,” Leviste said.

(It would be better if the DPWH releases these files so they can explain them themselves. Given the volume of data involved, it would also be better if there were explanations to accompany the information.)

According to the Batangas lawmaker, he sought a meeting with Cabral in June to seek an explanation on the discrepancies in the amount of funding for DPWH projects among legislative districts across the country.

In her attempt to clarify how the DPWH decides on the project allocations, Cabral supposedly disclosed to Leviste the contents of her office's files, detailing thousands of projects, together with the listed "proponents" and "other notations."

Leviste said he was eventually given a copy of the computer files by Cabral in September, while she was still the DPWH undersecretary for planning and public-private partnerships, and after DPWH Sec. Vicne Dizon took office.

Leviste said he was hesitant that he himself would make the list public, mindful of the harm it may cause on the reputation of the people listed in Cabral's computer files.

“Maraming nakapangalan dito. Siyempre, lahat sila magrereklamo kapag lumabas na ito. Pero kung ang DPWH ang maglalabas, sila na rin ang magpapaliwanag,” he added.

(Many individuals are named in the files. Of course, they will all complain once these are released. But if the DPWH releases them, then it will be the agency’s responsibility to explain.)

Leviste said he believes the files left by Cabral could help advance investigations into alleged anomalous flood control projects, though additional evidence may be needed to directly link project proponents to contractors.

“Definitely, ang proponent ng insertions ang paraan para malaman natin kung sino ang talagang ‘big fish,’ kasi kung puro site inspection lang ang ginagawa natin, ang contractors lang ang nasisisi sa substandard work," he said.

(Identifying the proponents of budget insertions will help determine who the real ‘big fish’ are. If investigations are limited to site inspections, only the contractors are blamed for substandard work.)

"Pero kung malalaman natin kung sino ang proponent ng insertion, doon natin maikokonekta ang mga proyekto sa mga pulitiko,” Leviste added.

(But if we identify the proponents of the insertions, we can then connect the projects to the politicians involved.)

GMA News Online has reached out to Dizon for comment and will update this story as soon as he gives a response.

In a previous interview, Leviste said Cabral’s files identified "proponents" that included senators, congressmen, cabinet members, undersecretaries, and even private individuals who are known contractors.

Cabral, who has since resigned as DPWH undersecretary, was found dead around midnight on December 19, following an alleged fall near the Bued River in Tuba, Benguet.

Prior to her death, she was facing a high-profile investigation for her alleged role in a corruption scandal involving flood control projects, supposedly funded through budget insertions amounting to billions of pesos.—MCG, GMA Integrated News