Malacañang has downplayed allegations that several Cabinet secretaries were named as proponents of multibillion-peso budget insertions for infrastructure projects of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), describing the claims as “mere gossip.”
Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said the accusations carry no evidentiary weight unless supported by verified documents.
She emphasized that information from unofficial sources should not be accorded credibility without proper validation, stressing the need for due process and official authentication before the Palace issues any response.
“The Palace will only respond to documents authenticated by the DPWH,” Castro said.
“Other than these, they will all be considered hearsay or gossip, which have no probative value,” she added.
Batangas 1st District Rep. Leandro Leviste earlier claimed that the late DPWH Undersecretary Maria Catalina Cabral had handed him documents on September 4 allegedly listing the names of senior officials, including Cabinet members, implicated in the agency’s budget insertions.
Leviste said the files were presented to the Independent Commission for Infrastructure on November 18 and 19, and later to the Office of the Ombudsman on November 26.
His disclosure followed Cabral’s death on December 19, when she fell into a ravine in Benguet.
Cabral had previously been accused by former DPWH Undersecretary Roberto Bernardo of steering the agency’s financial planning.
She resigned on September 16 after being implicated in corruption within the department. ( ZIA LUNA)
