House committee chair urges caution with unauthenticated DPWH records

Bicol Saro Party-list Rep. Terry Ridon urged the public and lawmakers to exercise caution on unverified Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) documents linked to flood control projects.

Ridon, chairman of the House Committee on Public Accounts, issued the statement in response to Batangas 1st District Rep. Leandro Legarda Leviste’s appeal for the Office of the Ombudsman to release a “pre-authentication” copy of the so-called Cabral files. 

“Hindi ginagawa ng gobyernong maglabas ng unauthenticated at partial files tulad ng ginawa ni Rep. Leandro Leviste, dahil mahalaga ang complete at authenticated files sa aktwal na trabaho nito ng pagpapanagot ng mga sangkot sa flood control scam,” Ridon said. 

He added that it is now up to the public to decide whether they accept as genuine the documents released by Leviste. 

Leviste has repeatedly shared the Cabral files on his Facebook page, claiming the documents were provided by the late former DPWH undersecretary Maria Catalina Cabral. 

He insisted the files are authentic and not fabricated, despite questions from critics. 

In a press conference on Wednesday, January 21, Leviste said the Ombudsman could release an unofficial copy of the Cabral list for public cross-checking. 

Ridon also criticized Leviste for including an unvetted DPWH line item of P30 million labeled “2024 MAIP,” which has no official DPWH program under that name. 

“Ang alam ng mga taong MAIP program ay nasa ilalim ng Department of Health (DOH), ang tinatawag na Medical Assistance for Indigent Patients,” Ridon said.

“Kaya kung ito ang MAIP na programa ng DOH, bakit ito mailalagay bilang line item sa sinasabing official document ng DPWH, bagamat unvetted at unverified?,” he added. 

Leviste maintained that the project list is “credible” and that his release of files aims to promote transparency.