House Deputy Speaker Antipolo City 1st district Rep. Ronaldo "Ronnie" Puno isn't impressed by Batangas 1st district Rep. Leandro Legarda Leviste's exposés and revelations about the national budget.

In fact, Puno would rather have Leviste try to comprehend better the documents or files in his possession.

In a chance interview Monday, Dec. 29, Puno disagreed with Leviste’s assertion that there's something irregular about the P6.793-trillion General Appropriations Bill (GAB) based on the the "Cabral files" that the latter has been posting on his Facebook.

Leviste said that these files were sourced from the late former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) undersecretary Maria Catalina Cabral, upon the instruction of DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon.

Asked if the Cabral files showed anything that was illegal, Puno said: "Ako (Me), personally, I don’t think so.

"Because she (Cabral) was in the planning service of the DPWH. Kahit sinong tanungin mong planning service sa lahat ng ahensya ng gobyerno, may ganyan sila (Ask whichever planning service in all government agencies, they have that)...these are the budget submission," the deputy speaker said.

"Again, baka noon lang niya nakita yan (maybe it was his first time to see that), akala niya (maybe he thought) it was some kind of secret file na can be used in a criminal case," Puno said of the 32-year-old rookie solon.

"Siguro intindihin muna kung ano yung binabasa bago magsalita ng ganyan kasi it's not fair to the people na inaakusa eh (Maybe one should first understand what he is reading before speaking like that, because it is not fair to the people being accused)," said Puno, also a lawyer.

Since Dec. 24, Leviste has been posting lists of DPWH budgets per congressional district covering the years 2023 to 2026. He has criticized the inequitable allocations across the districts, among other things.

Leviste has been alluding to the Cabral list as a "smoking gun" of sorts against his House colleagues who may have questionable project insertions in the current national budget.

In recent weeks, Leviste has called out CWS Party-list Rep. Edwin Gardiola and Bicol Saro Party-list Rep. Terry Ridon over what the Batangueño perceived as shenanigans ('pre-ordering of projects" and insertions) with the DPWH budget. They have both denied Leviste’s allegations.

Puno suggested that Leviste, while well-meaning, doesn’t really understand what he's talking about.

"Alam mo, si Cong Leviste (You know, this Cong Leviste), I like the fact that he's a young congressman na very active and mukhang (who is very active and appears to be) looking into every corner.

"But you have to study a little bit more, siguro kasi hindi naman yung explanation niya yung totoo eh (maybe because his explanation isn't true),” said the National Unity Party (NUP) chairman.

According to Puno, the billionaire businessman-turned politician has apparently given his own meaning to words "insertions" and "amendments".

“Sometimes, you know, when we don't know what we're talking about, we will say things, no? I mean, you know, I don't think he knows exactly what an insertion is and what's the difference between an insertion and an amendment and insertion and the things he's talking about now,” the Antipolo solon noted.

“And it's not fair for somebody to blanket accuse everybody. Alam mo, sabihin niyo, oh hindi, actually, lahat ng congressman may insertion. Kasi nga eh, lahat ng congressman hinihingian ng rekomendasyon diyan (You know, whether we say it or not, actually, all congressmen have insertions. It's because all congressmen are sought for recommendations),” Puno explained.