Trigger warning: Mentions of suicide

Maria Catalina “Cathy” Cabral‘s untimely passing shocked many because she allegedly played a major role in widespread and massive corruption in government infrastructure projects.

The alleged brains behind budget insertions through the Department of Public Works and Highways, Cabral was found unconscious in Benguet on Thursday night, December 18.

She was later announced dead shortly after midnight on Friday, December 19.

Here are the events that happened before and after Cabral’s death in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), according to authorities.

Sequence of events

Cabral drove to Benguet with her driver on December 18.

• Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong, who sits as CAR’s Regional Peace and Order Council chairperson, said Cabral’s driver Ricardio Hernandez told the authorities that while they were on their way to Baguio City, Cabral asked to be dropped off along Kennon Road.
• Hernandez complied, Cabral stepped out of the vehicle, but police personnel spotted them and told them that vehicle parking was not allowed in the said area.
• According to Magalong, the two then proceeded to Baguio City where they stayed in a hotel.
• At around 3 pm, Thursday, Cabral and her driver were traversing Kennon Road anew when the former DPWH official asked Hernandez to stop the vehicle again. The driver heeded his boss’ request once more and dropped her off at around Camp 4.
• Hernandez returned at around 5 pm to fetch Cabral, but she was not there. He continued searching for his boss in the area, but failed to see her.
• The driver returned to their hotel in Baguio City to check if Cabral was there, but she was not.
• After a few hours, at around 7 pm, Hernandez returned to the area once more to look for Cabral, but failed once more.
• The driver then went to the Baguio City Police to report the incident and seek help.
• At around 8 pm, the police found Cabral at the side of Bued River, around 20 to 30 meters below the highway. She was unconscious and unresponsive.
• Tuba police, along with local disaster risk reduction office and Bureau of Fire Protection, retrieved Cabral from the site at around 12 midnight on December 19.
• By 12:03 am, the attending physician declared Cabral dead.

More and more questions

At least according to initial investigations, Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) chief Juanito Victor “Jonvic” Remulla said there was no foul play involved.

• Remulla said they are still looking into the people whom Cabral talked to before the incident. He added that what they all they know was, Cabral asked to be dropped off around Kennon Road.
• The police and other authorities also have no information about Cabral’s supposed business in Baguio City, the DILG chief added.
• Even the driver has no information as to why Cabral chose to be dropped off in the said road.
• According to Remulla, there were also no indications that Cabral received threats in the past few days. Even Cabral’s family did not mention anything about threats, he added.
• On the angle of possible of suicide, the DILG chief said, “rarely were there signs of suicide” from Cabral prior to the incident. Citing the driver, Magalong said that Cabral appeared to be in “good spirits,” and even treated another hotel guest when they were in Baguio City.
• Magalong, meanwhile, said that the driver was under police custody for questioning.
• “Until after the autopsy and after all the witnesses, everyone is considered a suspect na kasama niya (that she was with) beforehand,” Remulla said.

What happens now?

• To preserve possible evidence, the Office of the Ombudsman ordered Benguet authorities on Friday night to secure Cabral’s phone and other belongings.
• However, the Ombudsman and the DILG confirmed on Friday that Cabral’s belongings were turned over to her family.
• Remulla admitted there were lapses on the part of authorities: “It was a crime scene. So there were lapses on the part of the investigators. But we are doing everything we can now [to retrieve [all the] materials.”
• Assistant Ombudsman Mico Clavano said on Friday afternoon that they will seek cyber warrants to get a hold of Cabral’s belongings and preserve any possible evidence that they could from there.

Why this matters

Cabral was a central figure in the multi-billion flood corruption scandal, so her death deserves close scrutiny by the public.

• In September, Senate blue ribbon chairperson Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson said that one “Undersecretary Cabral” allegedly reached out to Senate President Tito Sotto’s office after the May 2025 elections to ask the senator what he wanted to insert in the proposed 2026 budget.
• Former DPWH undersecretary Roberto Bernardo alleged in his Senate testimony that Cabral was the alleged main operator of the kickback system in the agency, along with former public works chiefs Mark Villar (Duterte administration) and Manuel Bonoan (Marcos administration).
• Cabral was also the DPWH official who confirmed that Davao City 1st District Representative Paolo Duterte’s district received P51 billion worth of infrastructure projects during the last three years of the presidency of his father, Rodrigo Duterte.
• Cabral was said to have possessed a list of all proponents of these infrastructure insertions, according to the Office of the Ombudsman. Although she has yet to submit any affidavit or list to investigating authorities, she visited the constitutional body on December 3, following a subpoena issued by the Ombudsman.
• There’s information that Cabral was said to have possessed a list of all proponents of DPWH infrastructure insertions, according to the Ombudsman.

– Rappler.com