LEANDRO Leviste, Batangas 1st District representative, said he was offered additional infrastructure funding for his district after questioning the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) budget system last October.
He said a DPWH official called him during a press conference where he was discussing alleged links between DPWH officials and contractors.
“I was being offered extra budget on that phone call, in the middle of the presscon. In the same breath of talking about my allegations against the new leadership in the DPWH, I was being offered extra budget. In the same breath that I was questioning the DPWH budget, I was being offered extra budget,” Leviste said.
The lawmaker said the call came as he pushed for a revamp of the proposed 2026 DPWH budget, citing unfair district allocations.
“I’ve been arguing, we should redo the whole DPWH budget system, so that districts like mine can get additional budget… What my proposal is dagdagan ang budget ng distrito ko, at ng ibang mga distrito na disadvantaged sa current system sa buong bansa. At tinawagan ako para sabihin ‘yung para sa distrito ko ibibigay nila. ‘Wag ko lang guluhin ‘yung DPWH budget system sa buong bansa,” he said.
Leviste said the offer was tied to his request for classroom funding.
“I’m asking for extra budget for classrooms in the first district of Batangas, and on the phone I was told, “we will give you extra budget for your district”. If you read between the lines, that means, “you don’t question our budget, and we’ll give you your budget”,” he said.
Asked if it was a bribe, Leviste said yes, stressing he continued to question the budget despite his district later receiving additional funds.
“Exactly! And that’s why tuloy-tuloy akong nagkukwestyon pa sa DPWH budget system sa buong bansa. The fact that I’m continuing to question the DPWH budget system is showing na hindi ako mabibili ng anumang budget,” he said.
He said the incident showed how budgets can be used to pressure lawmakers.
“Ang pinag-usapan sa telepono ay ang budget ng distrito ko. Ayoko naman maapektuhan ang budget ng distrito ko, dahil sa ginagawa ko ngayon… 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 the districts. At minsan ay ito nga rin ay ginagamit bilang leverage over members of Congress,” he said.
Leviste also released documents showing alleged district-level infrastructure allocations from 2023 to 2026, including 2025 records he said came from former DPWH Undersecretary Catalina Cabral.
“Ayon sa mga files na ito, P401.3 billion ang allocable budget sa taong 2025, at ang non-allocable o outside allocable ayon sa files na ito ay nasa P600 billion plus. Ang P401 billion na ito ay ang district congressman pwedeng mag-errata o amend. Ang outside allocable naman po ay iba ang nagpo-propose ng mga proyekto. Maaaring mayroon ding input or mayroong ding alokasyon ang district congressmen sa outside allocable. Allocable budget in itself is also irregular,” he said.
He said the documents do not show the full basis for filing cases but could support further investigation.
“The budget data is not the full picture to file a case, but it should have been given to the ICI and to the Ombudsman since September,” he said.
ACT Teachers Party-list Rep. Antonio Tinio urged Leviste to release all related information.
“Malinaw na hindi buo o kumpleto yung inilabas ni Cong. Leviste so far of the Cabral files. So far ‘yung information ay tungkol lamang sa congressional representatives… Wala pa doon ‘yung party list, and certainly, wala pa doon ‘yung senator. Wala rin ‘yung other officials including Malacanang officials, na siya mismo rin ang nagbanggit na kasama mismo sa files daw ni Cabral,” Tinio said.
“Importanteng malaman kung sino ang proponents, kasi kung may corruption, sila ang tumatanggap ng kickback,” he added.