MANILA — Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson raised concerns over billions of pesos in “allocables” and “non-allocables” linked to at least five Cabinet secretaries and several undersecretaries in the 2025 national budget, citing documents associated with the late Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Undersecretary Maria Catalina Cabral.

In a statement, Lacson said the documents “raised questions about why executive officials appeared to have been assigned funds typically reserved for legislative project requests.”

“At least five Cabinet secretaries and some undersecretaries had allocables and/or non-allocables, according to the documents. I was surprised at one entry that said ‘ES, P8 billion.’ How did one ‘ES’ get allocables?” Lacson said during a DWIZ interview.

The senator said the records showed a certain “ES” with P8.3 billion in allocables, while former DPWH Secretary Manuel Bonoan allegedly had at least P30.5 billion. Other Cabinet secretaries were reportedly listed with P2 billion each, while allocations were also reflected for the House leadership and some party-list groups.

Lacson cautioned, however, that it remains unclear whether the officials cited also received allocations from other agency budgets in 2025. He also said that aside from Bonoan, at least one other Cabinet secretary allegedly received illicit payments, citing claims by former DPWH Undersecretary Roberto Bernardo.

According to Lacson, Cabral’s legal team records showed the issuance of P50 billion in Special Allotment Release Orders (SAROs) drawn from unprogrammed appropriations, with P30 billion earmarked for flood control projects later confirmed as “ghost projects.” Cabral had offered to testify on the documents before her death on December 19.

Following her passing, the DPWH turned over her files to the Office of the Ombudsman after a seizure order of her electronic devices and documents. Lacson said the authenticity of the files can still be verified through the DPWH or the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), particularly via its officer-in-charge, Rolando Toledo.

Separately, Batangas 1st District Representative Leandro Leviste released a summary of DPWH budget allocations per district from 2023 to 2026, totaling around P3.5 trillion. Leviste said the data came from the DPWH with approval from Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon and included files originally held by Cabral. The documents detail per-district allocations for infrastructure projects under the 2026 House General Appropriations Bill.

Leviste highlighted the largest regional allocations from 2023 to 2026 went to Central Luzon (P406.9 billion), Calabarzon (P341.8 billion), and the Bicol Region (P272.3 billion), while the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) had the lowest at P28.48 billion. He also listed districts with the highest allocations in each region, including Taguig 1st District (P18.43 billion) and Quezon City 4th District (P14.17 billion) in NCR, Ilocos Norte 1st District (P42.39 billion), Abra lone district (P41.66 billion), and Albay 2nd District (P44.10 billion).

The release reignited a dispute with Bicol Saro party-list Representative Terry Ridon, who denied earlier allegations by Leviste regarding P150-million road project insertions in Camarines Sur for the 2025 budget. Ridon said he could not have made insertions as he was not part of the 19th Congress when the budget was crafted. Leviste clarified that his earlier statement referred to the Bicol Saro party-list and urged a Public Accounts Committee hearing to investigate road projects in Camarines Sur.