Leviste seeks probe of P8-B DPWH projects from ‘Cabral files’

Batangas 1st District Rep. Leandro Leviste has sought an investigation into a list of 75 projects of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) that was allegedly from the files of the late DPWH Undersecretary Maria Catalina Cabral and had the tags “OP (ES/SAP)” as the supposed proponent.

Leviste shared the list on his Facebook page on Wednesday night, noting that the list of 75 projects – with a total amount of P8 billion – included a P300 million streetlight project in his district.

“Ibinabahagi ko ito dahil may iba nang media report na nagtalakay nito, upang magkaroon ang publiko ng buong larawan ng listahan at makatulong ang ating mga kababayan sa pagsasagawa ng sarili nilang pagsusuri sa mga proyekto dito at iba pang impormasyon na maaaring makatulong sa mga imbestigasyon na posibleng isagawa ng ating mga ginagalang na Senador at Kongresista sa 2026,” he said.

(I shared this because other media reports have discussed this as well, so that the public can have a whole picture of the list and help them scrutinize the projects and other information that might help in investigations that our senators and congressmen may conduct in 2026.)

Leviste clarified that he does not know the real identity of the “OP (ES/SAP) tagged as the proponent of the projects, of which 60% were flood control and slope protection projects while 40% were streetlight projects.

“Hindi natin alam kung sino talaga ang ‘OP (ES/SAP)’ na naka-tag bilang proponent ng P8B na mga proyektong tinanggap ng DPWH. Ang tag na ito ay kahawig ng mga acronym – OP (Office of the President), ES (Executive Secretary), at SAP (Special Assistant to the President) – at maaaring tumutukoy ito sa mga opisina, hindi sa mismong mga tao,” he said.

(We don’t know who is the ‘OP (ES/SAP)’ that was tagged as proponent of the P8B projects accepted by the DPWH. These tags are similar to the acronyms – OP (Office of the President), ES (Executive Secretary), and SAP (Special Assistant to the President) – and it may refer to offices, not actual people.)

“Hahayaan natin ang mga beterano sa Kongreso at Senado na manguna sa imbestigasyon at mahalaga na malaman kung sino ang ‘OP (ES/SAP)’ nagpapondo nito dahil hindi naman po pwedeng biglang may mga maanomalyang P8B proyekto na sumusulpot at hindi natin maipaliwanag bakit nasa loob siya ng ating budget,” Leviste said in another Facebook post.

(We will let the veterans of Congress and Senate lead the investigation as it is important to find out who is the‘OP (ES/SAP)’ who ordered this to be funded, because there cannot be anomalous P8B projects that will crop up and we are unable to explain why it is inside our budget.)

GMA News Online has reached out to Malacañang and the DPWH for their comment on Leviste’s Facebook post and will publish their response once available.

Earlier, former Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin vehemently denied that he did “not request, endorse, approve, or authorize any DPWH project or budget allocation at any stage of the budget process.”

He also denied instructing anyone, whether inside or outside of government, to use his name or his former office for such purpose.

“I am aghast and outraged at the insinuation that the tag ‘ES’ found in the so-called Cabral Files pertained to me as the then Executive Secretary to whom was allocated P8.3 billion worth of DPWH projects under the GAA 2025,” Bersamin said in a statement on Sunday.

This was after Senate Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson said the alleged Cabral files revealed at least five Cabinet members with allocable and non-allocable funds under the 2025 national budget, including an official tagged as “ES.”

Leviste said he believes that the “OP (ES/SAP) tag does not refer to Bersamin.

“Naniniwala akong hindi ito si dating ES Lucas Bersamin dahil nagtanong ako sa kanila at sinabi nila na wala silang kaalaman tungkol dito at buo ang kanilang suporta para sa isang imbestigasyon upang matukoy kung sino ito. Umaasa akong susuportahan din ng iba ang imbestigasyon dito,” he said.

(I believe this is not former ES Bersamin because I already inquired with them and they said they have nothing to do with it, and they wholeheartedly support an investigation to find out who this is. I expect others to support this investigation.)

The lawmaker said he shared the list after he received a new copy of the files of the late Cabral from another source, who secured the files from the DPWH. Leviste said the new file and his copy had the same contents.

He expressed optimism that the files will be eventually publicized since many parties already have copies of Cabral’s files, such as the DPWH, Ombudsman, the media, and Lacson.

“Naniniwala ako na pinakamabuting ang DPWH mismo ang maglabas ng lahat ng files sa publiko, upang hindi na ito kuwestiyunin nila at upang sila na rin ang makapagpaliwanag, sa pinakamaagang panahon, at mapawi ang mga espekulasyong may itinatago. Kami namang may kopya ng files ay maaaring magsabi kung tugma ang inilabas sa publiko sa mga kopyang hawak namin,” he said.

(I believe that it is best for the DPWH to release all the files to the public so that it would no longer be questioned and they can make explanations, at the earliest possible time, and put all speculations that they are hiding these to rest. Those of us who have copies of the files can say if the files released to the public match with our copies.)

Leviste noted that the costliest project in the list is in his district – P300 million for streetlights along the Tagaytay-Nasugbu Highway that was awarded to a contractor for P280,816,956, or P233,624 for each streetlight.

He said the project is one of the most overpriced projects in his district as he previously revealed on October 5.

“Naka-post sa Facebook ang mga larawan ng mga nakakabit nang mga streetlights ng aking naunang pagbisita. Kailangan talaga ang mga proyektong tulad nito, ngunit mas mabuti sana kung hindi ganito kamahal,” Leviste said.

(The photos of the streetlights from my first visit are posted on Facebook. We need projects like this but this would be better if it’s not that expensive.)

“Mahirap pong sabihin na walang anomalya ang proyektong iyon,” he added.

(It’s hard to say that the project does not have anomalies.)

After the P300 million streetlight project along the Tagaytay-Nasugbu Highway, the second most expensive projects in Leviste’s list were priced at P250 million – four river capacity enhancement structures in Oriental Mindoro and Occidental Mindoro, and two projects involving a coastal road in Occidental Mindoro.

The least expensive project was priced at P25.004 million for the Daang Maharlika or the Pan-Philippine Highway.

Leviste said the public can conduct their own research about the actual DPWH projects, the contractors involved, and the price at https://apps2.dpwh.gov.ph/infra_projects/. — JMA, GMA Integrated News