Police probe death of ex-DPWH Usec Cabral

National

FORMER Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Undersecretary Maria Catalina Cabral was found dead on Thursday, Dec. 18, after allegedly falling from a cliff along Kennon Road in Tuba, Benguet, authorities said.

Police reported that Cabral was discovered unconscious along the Bued River, about 20 to 30 meters below the highway. She was later declared dead by responding authorities. Her remains were subsequently brought to a local funeral parlor as investigators began piecing together the circumstances surrounding her death.

According to a timeline released by the Benguet Police Provincial Office, Cabral had been traveling with her driver along Kennon Road toward La Union at around 3 p.m. when she asked the driver to stop in the Maramal area between Camp 4 and Camp 5. She then requested to be left behind.

The driver, identified as Ricardo Munos Hernandez, told police he drove to a nearby gasoline station after Cabral dismissed him. When he returned to the area around 5 p.m., he was unable to find her. He continued searching the vicinity and later checked a hotel in Baguio City, believing Cabral may have gone there, but his efforts were unsuccessful.

At around 7 p.m., the driver returned to Kennon Road and, after still failing to locate Cabral, reported her disappearance to authorities. Police from the Baguio City Police Office and the Tuba Municipal Police Station responded and later found Cabral along the riverbank below the road.

Retrieval operations were conducted in coordination with the Tuba Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office and the Bureau of Fire Protection.

The Benguet Provincial Forensic Unit was also tapped to conduct scene-of-the-crime operations, with police saying a progress report will be issued as the investigation continues.

Cabral’s death comes amid ongoing controversy surrounding alleged corruption within the DPWH. She has been named among former officials accused of facilitating budget insertions, or “allocables,” in the National Expenditure Program and had been recommended for administrative charges.

Former DPWH Undersecretary Roberto Bernardo has also publicly alleged that Cabral was involved in a kickback scheme linked to substandard and ghost flood control projects that supposedly benefited certain lawmakers and public officials.

Just last week, the Independent Commission for Infrastructure issued a subpoena ordering Cabral to attend its hearings, though police said she had not yet appeared before the panel.

Following news of Cabral’s death, the Office of the Ombudsman directed Benguet authorities to secure and preserve her cellphone and other electronic devices.(Xienderlyn Trinidad, USJ-R Comm Intern)