Batangast 1st District Rep. Leandro Legarda Leviste – Photo courtesy from Leandro Legarda Leviste/Facebook.
Malacañang on Thursday said the verification of documents now referred to as the “Leviste files” rests with the Office of the Ombudsman.
Palace Press Officer Usec. Claire Castro made the remark when asked about claims linking the Office of the President to multibillion-peso public works projects.
The files are alleged records attributed to the late former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) undersecretary Maria Catalina Cabral and are said to point to possible budget insertions.
Castro said several versions of the documents are circulating, some of which contain annotations or names that are absent in other copies.
She stressed that documents outside official custody and subject to alteration cannot be treated as conclusive proof.
Batangas 1st District Rep. Leandro Leviste has claimed the records show P8 billion worth of DPWH projects supposedly backed by the Office of the President.
Officials from the Office of the Special Assistant to the President have rejected the allegation, saying they have no authority over DPWH budget allocations or project implementation.
