Who else got hold of the ‘Cabral files’ prior to her death?

So much has been said about the so-called “Cabral files,” a purported set of documents that shows the list of Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) funding to congressional districts from 2023 to 2025. 

The files supposedly originated from the late public works undersecretary Catalina “Cathy” Cabral, who created the formula for the allocation of projects to congressional districts.

These so-called “allocables” have been flagged by critics as the new form of pork barrel. No one really understood the formula save for Cabral, and it resulted in allocations to districts that do not necessarily match their needs. 

The files were released by Batangas 1st District Representative Leandro Leviste on Christmas Eve, following the tragic but mysterious death of Cabral on December 18, 2025. 

Do the documents have merit?

To be fair to Leviste, he had publicly mentioned the existence of the files as early as December 8, even before Cabral’s death. Privately, he had told some publications that he was in possession of these files as early as October (but he did not give Rappler a copy despite this reporter’s insistence). 

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Numerous public officials have tried to either question the authenticity of the documents, or outright invalidate it.

DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon, for one, has denied authenticating the files, and accused Leviste of taking the documents by force from Cabral’s office. House public accounts chairperson Terry Ridon has floated the possibility of an ethics complaint against Leviste, although the latter has refuted allegations the government records were obtained without official authority.

Malacañang also wanted a probe into how Leviste obtained the files.

Leviste releasing the documents after Cabral’s death gives the late bureaucrat no opportunity to either confirm nor deny their authenticity. After all, the dead do not speak. 

But Leviste is not the only person with files that show the same dataset. 

Who else has the files?

Leviste admitted on December 29 that he gave the “Cabral files” to the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism back in November. PCIJ published its damning report by the end of that month, partly based on the files given to the publication by Leviste.

PCIJ’s major findings were reflected in the headline — “‘Allocables’ are the new pork and Sandro Marcos and Martin Romualdez are the pork barrel kings.”

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The investigative newsroom’s story found that the top beneficiaries of the convoluted, incomprehensible formula on public works funding were none other than President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s cousin and son. 

But PCIJ, as is the case with newsrooms that observe thorough vetting in their investigative reports, did not merely rely on Leviste’s document.

The rest of the documents came from other sources, PCIJ reporter Gwen Latoza confirmed to Rappler.

Another document that PCIJ obtained — which it also published on its website — also showed “allocables” per district, with figures similar to the data set that Leviste provided. What’s notable is that it is much more detailed, because it also enumerated the allocation for “non-allocables,” which a DPWH official had described as big-ticket programs, compared to “allocables” which tend to be more local.

Our sources have said though that district representatives cannot touch “non-allocables” assigned to their districts, and that these are usually projects of people who have access to the budget — party-list representatives, senators, and even executive officials. 

Senate President Pro Tempore Ping Lacson said he had received files from Cabral’s camp, but he has yet to publish them.

Cabral’s lawyer, Mae Divinagracia, confirmed in an interview that her late client had six boxes files on DPWH projects from 2023 to 2025.

Assistant Ombudsman Mico Clavano also previously disclosed that other entities have reached out to their office, also claiming to have copies of the said files that originated from Cabral. 

Cabral’s computer will be subject to forensic examination, according to Ombudsman Boying Remulla.

Leviste’s political background (the billionaire son of former Batangas governor Antonio Leviste and longtime Senator Loren Legarda) and his uneven media appearances definitely invite skepticism, but allies of the Marcos administration and other government officials do themselves no favors by appearing dismissive of documents that could help bring the public works corruption fiasco closer to the truth. – Rappler.com