Manila, Philippines – Batangas 1st district Rep. Leandro Legarda Leviste made fresh allegations on Friday related to the flood control mess, this time citing arm-twisting that involved his district’s budget to silence him about the files left in his custody by the late Public Works Undersecretary Maria Catalina Cabral.
Leviste, who on Christmas Day had been posting documents online about the allocation per district budgeted by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) from 2023 to 2026, fielded questions from the media via a zoom meeting on Friday, Dec. 26.
Asked why he made public the Cabral files only after the latter’s death, Leviste said he already leaked the documents to investigative journalists as early as November but agreed to remain anonymous.
But pressed further on whether he feared pressure from colleagues at the House of Representatives, Leviste turned teary-eyed recalling a press briefing in October when he said he received a phone call from a DPWH official.
Without naming the caller, the 32-year old Batangas solon claimed his district’s budget was being used as “leverage” in exchange for his silence.
“Ang pinag-usapan sa telepono ay ang budget ng distrito ko. Ayoko naman na maapektuhan ang budget ng distrito ko dahil sa ginagawa ko ngayon,” the emotional Leviste said.
“Pero ako po ay nagtitiwala na dahil tama naman na malaman ng publiko ang budget ng bawat distrito, the fact na tinawagan ako tungkol sa budget ng distrito ko sa gitna ng aking presscon alone is proof na ang budget ay ina-allocate din for purposes other than the need of districts.
“At minsan, ito nga din ay ginagamit bilang leverage over members of Congress,” he added.
The DPWH’s bargaining chip was the extra budget that Leviste sought to finance the construction of classrooms in his district, he said.
“I was being offered extra budget in the same breadth that I was questioning the DPWH budget. I am asking for extra budget for classrooms for the first district,” Leviste said.
“If you read between the lines that means you don’t question our budget and we’ll give you your budget,” the lawmaker said.
Leviste later clarified that the budget increase he sought was across districts.
The young lawmaker also said that Presidential Communications Office Undersecretary Claire Castro will “make a fool of herself” once she confirms that the DPWH budget figures he released are authentic.
“Just to wrap up on the Cabral-DPWH documents, like I said, Usec Claire Castro will make a fool of herself after she confirms the authenticity of the documents with Secretary Vince and other people,” Leviste said.
