MANILA – Cabinet officials will not be spared from anti-graft investigations if evidence links them to alleged irregularities in the 2025 national budget, underscoring that accountability applies to all government officials regardless of position.
Palace Press Officer and Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro made the clarification amid renewed scrutiny over claims that several Cabinet members were allegedly connected to billions of pesos in questioned budget allocations.
The allegations were earlier raised by Sen. Panfilo Lacson, who cited documents referred to as the “Cabral files.”
According to Castro, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has consistently maintained that anyone found to have committed wrongdoing must face the consequences.
“Anyone among the Cabinet members who may be involved and for whom there is evidence should continue to be investigated to identify the real culprit,” Castro said in a text message to reporters.
She added that no official would be protected if proof of involvement emerges.
“The President has said that whoever it may be must be held accountable if they are truly involved,” Castro added.
Castro noted, however, that the issue is now under the authority of appropriate investigative institutions, including the Office of the Ombudsman and the Department of Justice (DOJ).
She also called on individuals who claim to possess evidence related to the alleged budget insertions to formally submit their findings to the Independent Commission on Infrastructure, the Ombudsman, or the DOJ for proper action.
Lacson has alleged that at least five Cabinet members had “allocables,” or budget allocations, amounting to billions of pesos in the proposed 2025 General Appropriations Act./PN
