Lacson: Cabral’s handwritten note shows P500M ‘allocables’ for Marcoleta

MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Rodante Marcoleta supposedly received P500 million in “allocables,” according to a note by the late Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Undersecretary Maria Catalina Cabral, Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson revealed on Wednesday.

Lacson, the chairman of the Senate blue ribbon committee, said a day after he unveiled portions of the partial report on the flood control probe.

“There is a handwritten note from the late Undersecretary Cabral indicating that she made allocations based on requests for the allocable funds. She was able to allocate P500 million worth of projects to Senator Marcoleta,” Lacson told a dzBB radio interview.

This letter, he said, is not yet with the Office of the Ombudsman, and he plans to submit the document, which came directly from Cabral’s camp.

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In a press conference, Lacson clarified that the project allocables to Marcoleta have not yet been linked to ghost or substandard infrastructure projects.

As a result, no investigation has been recommended against Marcoleta.

“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.

Apart from Cabral’s handwritten document, Lacson is preparing to submit to the Ombudsman and the Department of Justice other documents and testimony from the seven flood-control probe hearings in 2025.

INQUIRER has reached out to Marcoleta’s camp but has yet to respond as of posting time. /das