The late Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Undersecretary Catalina “Cathy” Cabral directed the agency to list former House Speaker Martin Romualdez and former Ako Bicol Party-list Rep. Zaldy Co as project proponents in its infrastructure database, allowing for easier budget insertions.
DPWH Programming Division Chief Engr. Peter Paul Cortez disclosed that Cabral issued the instruction after the 2025 national budget had been approved. He revealed the directive during proceedings before the Sandiganbayan Third Division on Monday, Nov. 9, explaining how the names of the two former lawmakers were added to the agency’s project records.
Cortez said Cabral gave the instruction after the approval of the 2025 General Appropriations Act (GAA), prompting questions about why Romualdez and Co were designated as project proponents only after the national spending law had been finalized.
The testimony comes amid revelations that 444 infrastructure projects worth ₱27.43 billion attributed to Romualdez were inserted into the 2025 national budget without undergoing the DPWH’s regular technical vetting process.
In separate testimony, Cortez confirmed that the projects were absent from the National Expenditure Program (NEP) and the original budget proposal but subsequently appeared in the enacted 2025 GAA.
“I definitely know na walang vetting po [sa projects]… walang dumaan sa min [na supporting prior study],” Cortez told the anti-graft court,
referring to the absence of supporting studies normally required to evaluate infrastructure proposals.
During the proceedings, Sandiganbayan Associate Justice Ronald Moreno also questioned whether the budget insertions had likely originated through the chairperson of the House Committee on Appropriations. Cortez answered in the affirmative and identified Co as the committee chairperson at the time.
The disclosures come as Romualdez remains detained at the New Quezon City Jail in Payatas over a separate ₱7.44-billion plunder case involving kickbacks from government flood control and infrastructure projects.
The Office of the Ombudsman filed the plunder case on Sept. 7 against Romualdez, Co, and two other individuals. Romualdez was arrested and subsequently ordered detained by the Sandiganbayan. He has pleaded not guilty, while Co remains at large.
The latest testimony adds to mounting scrutiny of the 2025 national budget, particularly the post-approval identification of Romualdez and Co as project proponents and the inclusion of billions of pesos in infrastructure allocations without prior DPWH technical evaluation.
