Here are some things to know about Catalina Cabral, an ex-DPWH exec.
CATALINA CABRAL – The former Department of Public Works and Highways executive died, and here are some details about her.
Former Department of Public Works and Highways Undersecretary Catalina Cabral fell off a cliff along Kennon Road, which led to her untimely passing. Cabral’s death has shocked many people. Cabral was found around 8 PM on Thursday, 20 to 30 meters below the highway in the Camp 5 area of Barangay Camp 4, and on Friday, 12:03 AM, she was declared dead.
DPWH has released a statement about her death and extended its deepest condolences to her family. She has worked for more than 40 years in the agency, until her resignation in September of this year.
Cabral resigned from the DPWH after being linked to alleged anomalous budget insertions tied to anomalous flood control projects. She was also accused of involvement in a kickback scheme related to substandard and ghost projects that allegedly benefited some lawmakers and public officials.
Several lawmakers extended condolences and, at the same time, called for an investigation to determine whether the death was connected to the flood control issue. Akbayan Party-list Rep. Perci Cendaña asked:
“Who will benefit most from her death? Will the truth die with her? Will she be the ‘fall guy’ in this grand corruption scandal?”
Cendaña appealed to the government to secure the digital records of Cabral and to retrieve any proven ill-gotten wealth. He also called to protect the witnesses, suspects, and persons of interest in the flood control issue.
Meanwhile, Cabral was a licensed civil engineer with a doctoral degree in Business Management and Public Administration. She was the first female rank-and-file employee to reach the level of undersecretary at the DPWH. She earned three master’s degrees and certificates from Wharton, Harvard Kennedy School, and Mohamed Bin Zayed University in areas like data analytics, digital transformation, and artificial intelligence.
Before becoming undersecretary, she was directly involved in implementing major road, bridge, and flood control projects co-funded by the Asian Development Bank, World Bank, and the Japan International Cooperation Agency.
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