DPWH urged to authenticate Cabral files

MANILA, Philippines — Batangas 1st district Rep. Leandro Leviste is pressuring Secretary Vince Dizon of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to “authenticate” the so-called Cabral files he published on social media on Christmas eve.

Leviste was hoping for a speedy response from Dizon, saying “if you’re telling the truth, you don’t need time to think.”

“I gave a few days for the DPWH to authenticate the documents that I uploaded on Facebook– as a test if they will lie, hide something or admit the truth. And to see if they really don’t want the files published,” Leviste said in a statement yesterday.

“I’ve been saying publicly since November that I have the files when I showed this to the Independent Commission for Infrastructure and Ombudsman, and Secretary Vince told me in September that he will release this to the public,” he claimed.

Leviste also posted a series of back and forth correspondence, supposedly between his office and the DPWH.

In a supposed email to Dizon dated Oct. 1, Leviste sent the Cabinet official a “follow up” letter asking for a copy of the “data on the DPWH budget per legislative district in the 2026 NEP (National Expenditure Program).”

“Considering the stated limited fiscal space for the 2026 budget, I believe it would be integral to have visibility on the budget being allocated per legislative district, in advance of the period for proposed amendments and approval of the budget,” Leviste said in the email.

“My understanding is that there is no restriction on sharing this information, and it is consistent with the thrust of DPWH to make this publicly available,” Leviste added, insisting he be given a copy of the list.

Dizon previously denied authenticating the files in Leviste’s possession: “I haven’t seen the documents he is referring to. So how can I authenticate those?”