Joselito Malig

Article (news)

Andrea Taguines

ABS-CBN News

MANILA — House Committee on Public Accounts Chairperson Terry Ridon on Thursday said Batangas 1st District Rep. Leandro Leviste faces a possible ethics complaint over the alleged unlawful acquisition of the so-called “Cabral files”, which refers to the summary of questionable allocations per legislative district in the 2025 budget supposedly recorded by Public Works Undersecretary Maria Catalina Cabral.This comes after a couple of Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) employees came out and said that Leviste forcibly took documents from Cabral’s office last September 4, resulting in Cabral getting a bad paper cut on her finger as seen in photos released by the agency. There were also photos showing Leviste sitting in a personnel’s cubicle and using her computer to access files.This runs counter to Leviste’s earlier claim that Secretary Vince Dizon authorized the release of documents to him. The DPWH also maintains that Dizon has neither personally seen nor authenticated the “allocables” list posted online by Leviste after his meeting with Cabral.According to Ridon, a red line is crossed when government records are obtained without official authority.He noted that allegations of improperly obtaining and reproducing official documents implicate core ethical duties of legislators: respect for the law, avoidance of abuse of position, and protection of the integrity of congressional inquiries“In as much as malaking usapin ho sa atin yung nilalaman ng Cabral files, mahalaga rin po sa Kamara yung pamamaraan kung paano po nakuha ito pong mga files na ito. Kasi tingin ko hindi po dapat ginagawa ng House member, kung totoo po yung sinabi ng DPWH, yung ganyan pong porma ng pagkuha po ng mga files at yung pagsasalita na meron na merong otoridad na kumuha ng mga dokumento when in fact, wala naman pala,” said Ridon.“Pwede hong yung DPWH personnel yung mag-file po na complaint po na ito. Pwede rin po na, syempre, yung mga kababayan po natin na talagang interesado sa usapin po na ito. At syempre, pwede rin po magkaroon ng mga motu proprio proceedings ang House Ethics Committee to look into these particular details,” he added.Ridon also warned that when documents are allegedly taken outside lawful channels and reproduced informally, their reliability as evidence is compromised—particularly when questions persist regarding chain of custody, completeness, and authenticity.“It had already been more than three months, and Ms. Cabral is already dead at this point. So, ibig sabihin, how in the world can we actually be certain that whatever it is that Congressman Leviste is actually disclosing at this point are the same documents that had been transferred to him?” he said.For University of the Philippines College of Law Assistant Professor Paolo Tamase, the files may still be authenticated, citing the Office of the Ombudsman’s plan to conduct a digital forensic examination on Cabral’s computer. But he believes that prosecutors now face a more difficult task because of Leviste’s reported actions.“Pwede din siyang pagsasabotahe nung imbestigasyon kasi dahil nga doon sa sapilitan niyang panghihimasok, papasok ngayon yung doubt doon sa integridad ng mga dokumento. Kung ako yung abogado ng kabila, kung ako yung abogado ng mga contractor or ng DPWH, gagamitin ko yung insidente na yan to discredit the documents… Mas nakakagulo,” said Tamase.According to Tamase, if repeated requests to get access to the documents were not working, House lawmakers could have issued a subpoena instead.Apart from an ethics violation, Tamase said this incident may even warrant a criminal case.“Pwede din siyang makasuhan ng kasong kriminal, pwede kasing obstruction of justice,” he said.<div>LEVISTE DENIES ACCUSATIONS</div>In a statement, Leviste vehemently denied any allegation that he illegally obtained files from DPWH.“The timing of the DPWH saying this now about an event months ago is suspect, and only raises questions on why DPWH doesn’t just release all the files if there’s nothing to hide,” he said.

Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) employees have alleged that Leviste forcibly took documents from Cabral’s office.

Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) employees have alleged that Leviste forcibly took documents from Cabral’s office.

Ridon says Leviste may face ethics complaint over alleged illegal acquisition of Cabral files

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Ridon says Leviste may face ethics complaint over alleged illegal acquisition of Cabral files

Andrea Taguines,

ABS-CBN News

Published Dec 31, 2025 12:01 AM PHT

Read More:

Leandro Leviste

DPWH

Usec Cathy Cabral

ethics complaint

Terry Ridon

Cabral files

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