A handwritten note from the late Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Undersecretary Maria Catalina Cabral suggests that Senator Rodante Marcoleta received P500 million in allocations. Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson made this revelation during a radio interview.
Lacson, who is leading the Senate blue ribbon committee, presented this information a day after releasing parts of a report on flood control funding investigations.
He stated, "There is a handwritten note from the late Undersecretary Cabral indicating that she made allocations based on requests for the allocable funds. She allocated P500 million worth of projects to Senator Marcoleta."
Lacson confirmed that this document has not yet been submitted to the Office of the Ombudsman, but he intends to do so, as it was obtained directly from Cabral's team.
He clarified that while the note suggests allocations to Marcoleta, there is no evidence linking these funds to ghost or substandard infrastructure projects, and thus, no investigation against him has been recommended.
For now, there isn’t any recommendation to investigate. Only when a ghost or substandard project is attributed to him, or he participated in it,” Lacson stated.
Panfilo Lacson
In addition to Cabral's note, Lacson is preparing to present further documentation and testimonies from last year's flood control hearings to the Ombudsman and the Department of Justice.
Marcoleta's office has not yet responded to requests for comment regarding these developments.