Batangas 1st District Rep. Leandro Legarda Leviste has released a new set of documents detailing the Department of Public Works and Highways’ (DPWH) budget distribution from 2023 to 2026, amounting to about ₱3.5 trillion, citing records from the DPWH and files from the former office of the late Undersecretary Maria Catalina Cabral.
Leviste said the documents show capital outlay allocations per region and district and were based on DPWH data approved by Secretary Vince Dizon, alongside budget summaries used during deliberations on the proposed 2026 national budget. He said the amount is equivalent to roughly ₱130,000 per Filipino family.
He also clarified that the 2026 figures are still subject to adjustment in the final General Appropriations Act and that the data exclude personnel services, maintenance and operating expenses, and foreign-assisted projects. The compilation, he added, includes ₱213.8 billion in unprogrammed appropriations released in 2023 and 2024 for priority projects.
Amid questions on authenticity, Leviste said the figures can be verified by the DPWH and Secretary Dizon, noting that similar copies of the files have surfaced in the media. He stressed these did not originate from him and said their circulation shows the records also exist within the DPWH.
“Mas mabuting tanungin si Sec Vince o ang DPWH para kumpirmahan itong ₱3.5T DPWH budget distribution figures. Kahit wala na po si yumaong USec Cabral, si Sec Vince at ang kanyang team ay makakasagot pa.”
Meanwhile, Malacañang, through Presidential Communications Office Undersecretary Claire Castro, said the Palace would only comment on documents that are formally authenticated by the DPWH, adding that unverified materials would not be given weight.
“The Palace will only respond to the documents authenticated by DPWH. Other than these, they will be considered as hearsay or tsismis which have no probative value,” as cited from Castro’s message to reporters via Viber.
Leviste further emphasized that the documents include a breakdown of the ₱401.3 billion annual “allocable” budget per district and that he plans to release more data on priority projects and their proponents.
He added that copies of the files were earlier shown to the Independent Commission for Infrastructure and Office of the Ombudsman in November with which the authorities claimed they had not previously seen the documents.
The lawmaker also welcomed the DPWH’s recent turnover of related documents to the Office of the Ombudsman, citing the need for greater transparency in public works spending.
