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January 7, 2026 | 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — Batangas Rep. Leandro Leviste yesterday thanked lawyer Mae Divinagracia for confirming several of his claims regarding the so-called “Cabral files.”
Leviste also thanked Divinagracia for confirming that he lawfully obtained the documents, refuting insinuations that he forcibly took it from the late public works undersecretary Maria Catalina Cabral.
Citing a recent interview, Leviste recalled Divinagracia saying that he obtained documents from Cabral and the latter has “shown us six boxes of documents.”
Quoting the lawyer of Cabral’s family, Leviste said the boxes contain a “document that’s ostensibly similar to the document that was released by congressman Leviste” and “some of the documents would relate to the preparation of the annual budget proposal of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) spanning 2023 to 2025.”
The 2023 to 2025 documents from Cabral include “requests, notes from the secretary, some bore the names of proponents, some are like a tabular list of projects,” Leviste said, quoting Divinagracia.
Divinagracia’s description of the documents corresponds with his copy of the files and other people’s copies secured from the DPWH, Leviste pointed out.
“Divinagracia further said that Cabral said it’s all with the DPWH. She left it all there after she resigned… That’s why we find it odd that they’re fixated, obsessed with the cellphone, when whatever they seek to find in the cellphone should be in the files with the DPWH,” Leviste said.
“We have done our part in letting the public know the files exist and can now leave it to the DPWH to release the files to the public in the interest of transparency. It is best that we let the DPWH or ombudsman be the one to release the files to the public, so the files can be authenticated and explained,” he added.
Asked whether Leviste forcibly took documents from Cabral’s office, Divinagracia, as quoted by Leviste, said Cabral did not say that and “during the interview with the Office of the Ombudsman, she confirmed that congressman Leviste obtained documents from her office.”
“As was asked in Attorney Divinagracia’s interview yesterday, I also heard that Usec. Cabral was told that she could be made a state witness if she implicated (former) budget secretary Mina Pangandaman. Usec. Cabral did not do so because she did not want to say something that was not true. This reflects the honesty of Usec. Cabral and, more broadly, how testimonies that do not fit certain narratives have been left out of investigations,” Leviste said.
Recalling a Sept. 4, 2025 conversation with Cabral, Leviste said the late DPWH undersecretary told him that she felt bad about having been made to tender a courtesy resignation instead of retiring early.
Leviste noted Divinagracia’s statement: “(Cabral) started feeling bad when she was summarily dismissed, although under the guise of a courtesy resignation… after 40 years of service and when she was denied her retirement pay… She felt that she was being used as a scapegoat for the men or the people who are really culpable or responsible for this flood control mess.”
The Independent Commission for Infrastructure yesterday confirmed getting Divinagracia’s letter expressing Cabral’s willingness to appear before the ICI.
Brian Hosaka, ICI executive director, said they received the letter on Dec. 15, 2025, their last day available to schedule hearings.
“However, we were overtaken by events with the resignation of two of our commissioners and, of course, the death of Usec. Cabral,” he said.
Hosaka stressed that a subpoena dated Dec. 9, 2025 was issued to Cabral to appear before the ICI on Dec. 15.
Fingerprints match
The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has confirmed that fingerprints taken from the body recovered matched Cabral’s.
Acting NBI Director Angelito Magno said the case cannot be considered closed yet as authorities are still determining the circumstances surrounding Cabral’s death.
Cabral fell to her death on Dec. 18 in a ravine along Kennon Road in Tuba, Benguet.
“Our forensic results show that the latent prints taken from the body are the same as those on file with the Philippine National Police and NBI,” he said.
Meanwhile, after filing a new graft complaint against former lawmaker Zaldy Co, the NBI said Co is still out of the country.
Co is facing charges over alleged anomalies in a P289-million flood control project in Naujan, Oriental Mindoro. — Rainier Allan Ronda, Mark Ernest Villeza
