The Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) has urged law enforcement agencies to preserve all documents, gadgets, and computers belonging to former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) undersecretary Maria Catalina Cabral, as it called for a thorough investigation into her death.
The commission stressed that Cabral, who was implicated in anomalous flood control projects, may have held key information relevant to ongoing inquiries.
ICI Executive Director Brian Hosaka noted that Cabral, as former undersecretary for planning, was “no doubt privy to vital information.”
He added that if foul play is established, those responsible may also be linked to the anomalous infrastructure projects under investigation.
Cabral, who resigned from the agency last September amid the flood control controversy, had been expected to attend an ICI hearing on December 15 but did not confirm her attendance.
The 40-year DPWH veteran was found dead at around 8 p.m. in a 30-meter-deep ravine near the Bued River in Sitio Maramal, Barangay Camp 4, Kennon Road, Tuba, Benguet, on Thursday, Dec. 18.
Her remains were recovered by the Tuba Municipal Police Station and the Baguio City Police Office, with assistance from the Tuba Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office and the Bureau of Fire Protection.
She was taken to a hospital, where she was declared dead at around 12:03 a.m. Friday, Dec. 19.
The Benguet Provincial Forensic Unit is currently conducting scene-of-the-crime processing. Police are determining whether Cabral committed suicide.
Cardo Hernandez, Cabral’s driver, said they were on their way to Baguio City at around noon when she instructed him to stop along Kennon Road where the rock nettings are located.
Cabral got out of the vehicle and sat on a concrete barrier at the roadside. Hernandez warned: “Ma’am, don’t get too close or you’ll lose your balance and fall.”
He returned to the vehicle and was told by police not to linger in the area.
They then traveled to Baguio City, had lunch at a restaurant, and checked into a hotel on Legarda Road. Hernandez said they drove back to the area at around 2:30 p.m.
Cabral sat on the concrete barrier again and ordered Hernandez to leave her. He left and went to a gas station.
When Hernandez returned, Cabral was no longer there.
He looked around the area but she was nowhere to be found. He asked a man nearby if he had seen Cabral, but the man said he had not.
Hernandez searched the area again but still found no sign of her. He returned to the hotel at around 5 p.m., but Cabral was not there. He went back to Kennon Road hoping to see her but failed, prompting him to seek police assistance.
Police launched a search operation and located her body below the ravine.
Hernandez cried as he saw Cabral’s body being recovered by authorities.
Her remains were later taken to a funeral parlor in Baguio City.
The commission and the DPWH have extended their condolences to Cabral’s family and friends. (Joseph Pedrajas, Zaldy Comanda)
