29/12/2025
๐ POSTED BY: LEANDRO LEGARDA LEVISTE
๐๐๐ฏ๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ๐: ๐ ๐ฌ๐ก๐จ๐ฐ๐๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ข๐ฅ๐๐ฌ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ฆ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฌ๐ฆ๐๐ง ๐จ๐ง ๐๐จ๐ฏ ๐๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐๐ ๐จ๐ง ๐๐จ๐ฏ ๐๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ (๐ฅ๐๐ญ๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ฆ ๐๐ซ๐๐๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐ฅ๐จ๐จ๐ค ๐ญ๐ก๐ซ๐จ๐ฎ๐ ๐ก ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ข๐ฅ๐๐ฌ), ๐๐ญ ๐ฆ๐ฒ ๐ข๐ง๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐, ๐๐ง๐ ๐ฉ๐ฎ๐๐ฅ๐ข๐๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐ญ๐๐๐ญ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ซ๐๐ฅ ๐๐ง๐ ๐ฌ๐๐๐ฎ๐ซ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ข๐ฅ๐๐ฌ ๐จ๐ง ๐๐จ๐ฏ ๐๐, ๐๐, ๐๐. ๐๐ก๐๐ฒ ๐๐ข๐ ๐ง๐จ๐ญ ๐๐จ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐จ๐ฐ ๐ฎ๐ฉ ๐จ๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐๐๐ญ๐๐ซ ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ฆ๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฌ. ๐๐ญ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ฎ๐ง๐๐จ๐ซ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ง๐๐ญ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ญ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ก๐๐ง๐๐๐ ๐จ๐ฏ๐๐ซ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ข๐ฅ๐๐ฌ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ฆ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฌ๐ฆ๐๐ง ๐จ๐ง๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐จ๐ง ๐๐๐ ๐๐. ๐ ๐๐๐ฅ๐ข๐๐ฏ๐ ๐๐๐๐, ๐๐ฆ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฌ๐ฆ๐๐ง, ๐๐๐ง๐๐ญ๐จ๐ซ ๐๐๐๐ฌ๐จ๐ง, ๐๐ข๐ฅ๐ฒ๐จ๐ง๐๐ซ๐ฒ๐จ, ๐๐ง๐ ๐จ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ซ๐ฌ ๐ก๐๐ฏ๐ ๐๐จ๐ฉ๐ข๐๐ฌ. ๐๐ญ ๐ฐ๐จ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ฌ๐ญ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ฉ๐๐ซ๐ ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐๐ข๐ฅ๐๐ฌ, ๐ฉ๐ฎ๐๐ฅ๐ข๐๐ฅ๐ฒ, ๐๐ญ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฌ๐จ๐จ๐ง๐๐ฌ๐ญ ๐ฉ๐จ๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ข๐๐ฅ๐ ๐ญ๐ข๐ฆ๐.
I would first like to thank Assistant Ombudsman Clavano for acknowledging the existence of the โCabral Filesโ that DPWH turned over to the Ombudsman on December 23, as well as my meeting with the field investigation team of the Ombudsman in my office in Congress on November 26 (pictured below). I am sending this response within an hour of seeing his statement.
I would also like to thank him for acknowledging that I was โresponsive in fairness to specific inquiriesโ, but I would like to correct his statement that I โdid not present the entire set of files he claimed to possess even when asked to do so.โ Their team members in our meeting are listed below, and Assistant Ombudsman Clavano was not part of it, so it would be best for the people in the meetings to speak for themselves.
I presented the Ombudsman both the DPWH summary and Excel spreadsheet of the 2025 NEP during our meeting, which was from around 9:10M to 12PM. I invited the team of the team Ombudsman to go through the file further, but they did not seem too interested: Their questions to me during our meeting were more about projects linked to Congressman Edwin Gardiola (the agenda of our meeting as per their letter, attached), and I was the one showing them the file which I said would be helpful for all their investigations, and the team was more focused on their assignment to build a case on Congressman Gardiola. We invited them to come back another time but they did not get back to us after this meeting. The meeting was actually initially postponed, but in fact I asked that we keep it on the scheduled date, because I wanted to help the Ombudsmanโs investigations as much as I could.
I hope the Ombudsman and ICI can recognize in their public statements how I have gone out of my way to take initiative to assist in your investigations. The Ombudsman field investigation team, if they are allowed to attest, even said this was the first time in their decades of work that a member of Congress reached out to them to volunteer evidence.
On Assistant Ombudsman Clavano's point on the potential alteration of files: I believe the simple solution would be to compare, in public, if the files that I have are the same as the ones that are reportedly in the possession of Senate President Pro Tempore Ping Lacson, Bilyonaryo News Channel. I have not given the file to anyone, so if Senator Lacson, Bilyonaryo, and others have files that, based on media reports, align with mine, that supports the authenticity of the file.
I thank the DPWH and Ombudsman for securing the files as of December 23, and I hope these files can be made public. Instead of focusing solely on my files, I agree that it would be better if we compare your copy, my copy, and the copies separately obtained by others like Senator Lacson at the soonest possible time.
Please also note that, in several interviews, such as on ANC on November 20 and Net 25 on November 21, I called on the ICI and Ombudsman to look into the files and treat USec Cabral as an important witness who would know even more than USec Bernardo or Secretary Bonoan on DPWH budget insertions, as was relayed to me by ICI Commissioner Singson, when I visited the ICI on November 19. As I have said, it was unfortunate that action was not taken to secure the files and protect USec Cabral since November when I began calling for this in the media.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBNwoleTiXY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZIA3C3NxaY&t=4476s
On my November 19 visit to the ICI, where at my own initiative I showed the ICI Commissioners and team a copy of my files and discussed projects of Congressman Gardiola (which I believe prompted the Ombudsmanโs team to request to meet me thereafter โ letter dated November 19 attached), the team of the ICI also visited my office in Congress on November 20 to study the file and check the data for a list of ghost projects. The ICI team said the file would help their investigations because they had until then not seen any list of proponents. I left them in my office to freely look at the file as they pleased, as I was giving a press briefing on the projects of Congressman Gardiola at that time.
On another and final note, I would also like to ask members of the Ombudsman, DPWH, and any other agencies conducting investigations on DPWH projects to disclose any relationships or potential conflicts they may have with individuals that are currently being investigated, in the interest of transparency, so that the disclosure on a relationship of a certain individual named here is volunteered and does not come from me.
In the pictures of my meetings are the following:
November 26 with the Ombudsman field investigation team in my office in Congress (2025 DPWH Budget Summary being presented flashed on my TV, excel spreadsheet was also shown) - Keistofferson B. Cuerdo, Teodorica R. Avino, Carolyn Flor T. Escalante, Atty. Iris Gladys L. Torrente, Atty. Dennis J. Macaraig
November 20 with the ICI team at the entrance of my office in Congress - Atty. RS Mantos III, Ryan Tumagos, Moira Natividad
November 19 with the ICI - ICI Chair and former Supreme Court Justice Andres Reyes, ICI Commissioner and former DPWH Secretary Rogelio Singson, ICI Special Adviser PNP Chief Rodolfo Azurin Jr., and ICI Spokesperson Atty. Brian Hosaka.
