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December 28, 2025 | 2:39pm
In this Dec. 23, 2024 photo, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. meets with then-Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, then-Finance Secretary Ralph Recto, then-Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan, and then-Public Works Secretary Manuel Bonoan to review the proposed 2025 national budget.
PCO, file
MANILA, Philippines — At least five Cabinet secretaries and several undersecretaries had “allocables” and “non-allocables” amounting to billions of pesos in the 2025 national budget, Sen. Panfilo Lacson said, citing documents linked to the late Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) undersecretary Maria Catalina Cabral.
In a statement issued Saturday, December 27, 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 in English and Filipino during a DWIZ interview, as cited in his statement.
Lacson said the documents showed a certain “ES” with P8.3 billion in allocables, while former DPWH secretary Manuel Bonoan allegedly had allocables amounting to at least P30.5 billion.
He added that other Cabinet secretaries were listed with P2 billion each, while the House leadership and some party-list groups were also reflected as having “billions” in allocables.
Lacson cautioned, however, that it remains unclear whether the Cabinet officials cited also received allocations from other agency budgets for 2025.
He also disclosed that aside from Bonoan, at least one other Cabinet secretary allegedly received illicit payments, citing claims by former DPWH undersecretary Roberto Bernardo that he personally delivered kickbacks to that official.
How much were the SAROs?
Lacson said records provided by Cabral’s legal team showed the issuance of P50 billion in Special Allotment Release Orders (SAROs) drawn from unprogrammed appropriations.
Of the total, P30 billion was earmarked for flood control projects that were later confirmed to be “ghost projects,” he said.
Lacson added that Cabral had earlier reached out to him to offer full testimony on the documents after being named in a Senate hearing, but she died before she could formally testify.
Despite her death, Lacson said the authenticity of the files could still be verified through the DPWH or the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), particularly through its officer-in-charge, Rolando Toledo.
What happened to the files?
Following Cabral’s death on December 19, the DPWH turned over her files to the Office of the Ombudsman, after the latter ordered the seizure of her electronic devices and documents.
Separately, Lacson noted that a list released on December 24 by Rep. Leandro Leviste (Batangas, 1st District) detailed allocables assigned to individual lawmakers.
However, Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said an investigation should be conducted to determine how the files released by Leviste were obtained.
