📂 “Cabral Files” and the Zaldy Co Controversy: What’s Really Going On
MANILA, Philippines — As the national flood control corruption controversy continues to unravel, the so-called “Cabral files” — documents linked to the late former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Undersecretary Maria Catalina “Cathy” Cabral — have gained public attention for potentially shedding light on alleged budget manipulations involving officials across branches of government.
📌 What Are the “Cabral Files”? The “Cabral files” refer to boxes of budget-related documents from Cabral’s time at the DPWH. These files reportedly contain records of annual budget proposals, legislative “allocables,” and proposed district allocations that some lawmakers and critics claim may expose irregularities.
Batangas Representative Leandro Leviste has acknowledged having copies of some of these documents. Cabral’s legal counsel stated during a fact-finding probe that Cabral confirmed Leviste had obtained several documents from her office — though it remains unclear exactly which documents he has or how they were obtained.
However, neither the DPWH nor the Office of the Ombudsman has fully authenticated these copies or confirmed whether they precisely match the official records formerly held by Cabral.
📍 What Was Cabral Allegedly Pointing to? According to Cabral’s lawyer: The DPWH had developed a parametric formula intended to make budget allocations more objective, based on factors such as population and poverty incidence. However, the House leadership reportedly “overrode” the proposed formula, effectively reverting allocations to previous levels. Cabral said the email containing these adjustments came from the office of Elizaldy “Zaldy” Co when he was chairman of the House appropriations committee — though her lawyer did not personally see the email.
This claim suggests Co may have influenced budget adjustments that bypassed the DPWH’s technical formula, raising questions about legislative interference in technical budget preparations.
📌 Who Is Zaldy Co — and Is He Implicated? Elizaldy “Zaldy” Co is a former Ako-Bicol Partylist representative and former chair of the House appropriations committee.
He has been implicated in ongoing corruption investigations tied to flood control projects, including a P289-million project in Oriental Mindoro that the Ombudsman filed charges over (malversation and corruption) before the Sandiganbayan.
The Bureau of Immigration has flagged his name in its database after arrest warrants were issued, and authorities are on alert for his possible return to the Philippines.
🎯 What Co Says About the Files Co has not appeared in court to answer the charges and reportedly left the country amid these probes. He previously made controversial claims—shared on social platforms—accusing senior government officials of involvement in questionable budget practices, though these claims have not been verified in court. (Unverified online posts; corroboration needed)
📍 Verification and Controversy Around the Files There is debate about how the “Cabral files” were sourced and whether they are being used properly in investigations: Some critics argue the chain of custody and circumstances under which Leviste obtained the documents are not clear, which could affect their credibility.
Leviste maintains that the files are genuine and should be made public for transparency, and defends that they were obtained with proper permission — though others dispute that point.
Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson has commented that if the documents contain information that can help investigations, they should be disclosed in the proper time and venue while respecting legal and procedural safeguards.
📌 No Official Confirmation on Any Senators Being Directly Named from the “Cabral Files” As of now, there’s no official or authenticated list released by government agencies confirming which specific senators or officials are implicated directly through the “Cabral files.”
Reports about senators being named stem largely from secondary commentary and preliminary investigations, not from verified, publicly released authenticated evidence. Further authentication and official disclosure by the DPWH/Ombudsman remain pending.
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