At first glance, Batangas Rep. Leandro Leviste’s so-called Cabral Leaks present themselves as a bold act of whistleblowing—a supposed exposé of corruption in the 2025 national budget. A closer examination, however, reveals something far less noble. What is being offered is not truth-telling, but selective exposure—one that conveniently targets the Marcos administration while shielding the Duterte camp from scrutiny.
This is not a matter of incomplete information. It is a problem of chronology, credibility, and intent.
Chronology That Does Not Hold
The most immediate flaw in Leviste’s claims is factual. He names individuals who were not even in office—or in any position to influence the budget—when the 2025 General Appropriations Act (GAA) was drafted.
Take the case of Rep. Terry Ridon. Leviste alleges that Ridon was included in a ₱150-million budget insertion for 2025. This is demonstrably false. The 2025 budget was prepared and deliberated in 2024 by the 19th Congress. Ridon was elected only in 2025. One cannot influence a budget process that has already concluded before one assumes office.
If this is not a deliberate misrepresentation, then it reflects a troubling lack of basic fact-checking—an unacceptable lapse for anyone claiming to expose corruption.
Pacquiao: Sensation Without Authority
Even more untenable is the alleged involvement of Manny Pacquiao. According to Leviste, Pacquiao supposedly sought a ₱200-million budget insertion for 2025. At the time the budget was being finalized, Pacquiao was already a private citizen. His term as senator ended in June 2022. He held no public office, no official authority, and no legal capacity to request budget allocations.
This raises an unavoidable question: is this an exposé grounded in evidence, or a compilation of politically convenient names? Either way, the claim collapses under minimal scrutiny.
The “Cabral List”: A Document Without Standing
The list itself—the core of the so-called leaks—fails basic standards of credibility. It is attributed to the late DPWH Undersecretary Maria Catalina Cabral, yet it bears no signature, no official authentication, and no verifiable chain of custody. There is no clear record of when the document was created, how it was obtained, or whether it was ever validated by the agency concerned.
With the alleged source no longer alive to confirm or contextualize the document, the list stands on shaky ground. An unauthenticated document is not evidence; it is rumor packaged as revelation.
The Loud Silence on the Duterte Years
The most revealing aspect of the Cabral Leaks is not who is named—but who is not.
Why does the exposé focus almost exclusively on the Marcos administration while largely ignoring the 2016–2022 Duterte years? Why is there no serious discussion of the alleged ₱51-billion worth of budget insertions linked to figures close to the Duterte camp, including Rep. Paolo Duterte from 2020 to 2022—figures that, notably, were first raised by Cabral herself?
If transparency were truly the objective, the largest and most consequential allegations would not be omitted. Their absence suggests not oversight, but design.
A Shield, Not a Sword
Leviste’s Cabral Leaks are not a weapon against corruption. They function as a shield—deflecting attention away from one political camp while directing outrage toward another. The errors in chronology, the baseless inclusion of Pacquiao and Ridon, and the conspicuous silence on Duterte-era insertions all point to selective indignation.
This is not an exposé. It is a scripted political attack.
If Rep. Leviste seeks credibility as a whistleblower, transparency must apply to all administrations, not just those outside his political alignment. Until then, the message is unmistakable: this is less about accountability and more about protection.
Selective truth is not truth at all. And leaks that serve politics, rather than facts, ultimately reveal more about the leaker than the system he claims to expose.
(Nota bene: This Editorial piece is taken from a post by our media friend Junex Doronio)
