Ex-DPWH Usec Cabral’s death a major setback to corruption crackdown

By Erika Mae P. Sinaking

THE death of former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Undersecretary Maria Catalina E. Cabral is seen as a major setback to the government’s crackdown on widespread corruption in flood control projects, analysts said.

“The government has not progressed significantly in the flood control plunder in terms of pinning down the most powerful in the machinery chain and now they lost a possible source of key information,” Joy G. Aceron, convenor-director of transparency group G-Watch told BusinessWorld in a Facebook Messenger chat.

Based on congressional testimonies, she said, Ms. Cabral could have identified senators and other high-ranking officials who benefited from alleged insertions and budget irregularities.

“She was an insider and a key piece in the flood control plunder machinery. She was in it since the past administration and I will not be surprised if she even had a hand in laying down the design of and/or making the plunder machinery work,” Ms. Aceron added.

Two days after Ms. Cabral’s body was discovered, an autopsy revealed that the cause of death was blunt force trauma to the right side of her face, the back of her head, and internal injuries, following a fall from a height of approximately 30 meters — roughly equivalent to a 10-story building. Her body was found last Thursday night.

Authorities have named her driver as a person of interest, as he was the only person accompanying her while traveling to a hotel in Baguio.

Interior and Local Government Secretary Juanito Victor C. Remulla, Jr. said that based on the autopsy results, there were no signs of foul play.

“The first thing we did was inspect the scene of the incident. We did not find any indications of foul play. Her vehicle also showed no signs of interference,” he said in a statement, adding that initial findings point to suicide as a probable cause of her death.

Gerard Voltaire Bohol, president of the August Twenty-One Movement, said Ms. Cabral’s passing deprives investigators of a key figure who could have explained the distinction between allocable and non-allocable under the national budget — allocations she had supposedly signed together with former DPWH Secretary Manuel M. Bonoan.

“It’s definitely a big loss,” Mr. Bohol told BusinessWorld via teleconferencing. “But this should not halt the actual investigation. Ms. Cabral may have already provided initial information when she was summoned in previous weeks.”

Attention has also turned to Mr. Bonoan, who has yet to return to the Philippines after traveling to the United States, despite having indicated he would be back by mid-December.

Mr. Bonoan is implicated in multiple referrals by the Independent Commission for Infrastructure to the Office of the Ombudsman, involving alleged malversation, violations of the code of conduct, and potentially criminal cases for allegedly allowing payments for fictitious infrastructure projects — charges similar to those facing Ms. Cabral.

Ms. Aceron noted that his absence raises concerns over accountability. “He is clearly evading responsibility by remaining overseas. The government should do everything it can to bring him back to testify and be held to account. Hope the government can do better in handling the other sources of evidence,” she said.

Mr. Bohol said that with Ms. Cabral deceased and other officials seeking witness protection, Mr. Bonoan could become the next key figure whose testimony is critical to the investigation.

He warned that without proper protection and follow-through, the investigation could fail to produce meaningful results.

“The government should exert more effort in securing witnesses and key resource persons. Otherwise, accountability will be impossible,” Mr. Bohol added.