Senator Panfilo Lacson named Undersecretary Cabral of the DPWH who allegedly called the office of Senator Vicente Sotto III after the May 2025 elections. The purpose of the call was to offer budget insertions for the 2026 National Expenditure Program (NEP).
According to Lacson, Sotto said he did not give any projects because he stands for transparency and good governance. Lacson added that he saw hundreds of entries with the same amount of ₱100 million each in the draft budget without clear details.
Sotto confirmed that someone had reached out to him to submit a project, but he declined. He also said that the source of the call was possibly Usec. Maria Catalina Cabral. Cabral is listed as DPWH undersecretary for planning and PPPs.
Lacson stressed that if there is collusion between some lawmakers and the DPWH, the safeguards of the budget process will be nullified. He also reminded that the budget call began in January 2025 and ended before June, just weeks before President Marcos criticized the budget malpractices.
Meanwhile, Sotto said it was impossible for former Senate Presidents not to know about these insertions. He mentioned Juan Miguel Zubiri and Francis Escudero as possible candidates for public explanation. But Zubiri strongly denied that he interfered, and he even called for the release of the names of the lawmakers who inserted the insertions in the budget.
