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MANILA, Philippines — Former public works undersecretary Maria Catalina Cabral may have amassed P20 billion in ill-gotten wealth from anomalous flood control and other infrastructure projects, Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said yesterday.
Remulla based his assessment on Cabral’s stint as undersecretary for planning in the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) for nearly a decade, which makes her a key figure in the flood control scandal.
“My personal opinion, if she has been there for the last eight or nine years, I would say P20 billion is a good guess,” he said at a news briefing in Quezon City.
Cabral died after falling into a ravine in Tuba, Benguet on Dec. 18, which Remulla said was a case of suicide based on initial investigation by the Philippine National Police (PNP).
As undersecretary for planning, Remulla said Cabral approved all projects in the National Expenditure Program of the government, citing the testimonies of former DPWH undersecretary Roberto Bernardo and detained contractor couple Curlee and Sarah Discaya.
“Bernardo was in operations. If you wanted it inserted in the NEP, according to the Discayas’ testimonies, that’s what happens. The budget courses through (Cabral),” Remulla said.
Cabral’s body was brought to Quezon City from Benguet after investigation by the police confirmed her identity.
Remulla earlier said the former public works official suffered extensive injuries to her head, face, ribs, hands and legs.
“I think her shoes were separate from the body, that she really removed her shoes before jumping. So it shows the psychological patterns of a jump suicide,” he added.
Remulla also cleared Cabral’s driver, Ricardio Hernandez, of involvement in her death.
“To our investigation so far, we see no conclusive links with him and the fall of usec. Cabral,” Remulla said.
A knife and medicines were among the items found in her hotel room in Baguio City. Police have yet to secure her cellphone and other gadgets, which might contain information related to the flood control scam.
Acting PNP chief Lt. Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr., for his part, said they are working closely with the Independent Commission for Infrastructure and the Office of the Ombudsman to expedite the forensic investigation on the so-called Cabral files once they are turned over to the authorities.
He assured the public that all findings from the Cabral files will undergo a thorough forensic examination.
Meanwhile, Benguet police director Col. Lambert Suerte has taken a medical leave, temporarily replaced by Col. Ledon Monte, who was appointed officer-in-charge of the Benguet Police Provincial Office effective Dec. 22.
Suerte was supposed to be relieved due to procedural lapses in the Cabral case, but managed to stay on after convincing her relatives to agree to an autopsy of the body.
Cabral took antidepressant
Before she allegedly committed suicide, Cabral took an antidepressant, according to a police laboratory report released yesterday.
The report dated Dec. 22 showed the presence of Citalopram, an antidepressant drug, in Cabral’s body.
Remulla said Cabral’s gadgets can help investigators determine if she received threats before her death.
“What we have to determine is, number one, if there were threats to her life; number two, if there were any conversations prior to the event; number three, if there were still transactions pending and number four, who was she conversing with the week before the event,” he said in a statement.
Polygraph test?
According to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), Hernandez may be subjected to a polygraph test if investigators remain unconvinced by his account of the incident.
NBI spokesman Palmer Mallari clarified, however, that Hernandez is not under their custody.
“I do not know his exact whereabouts because he is not under NBI custody. He already gave his sworn statement and there was no reason to take him into custody,” he said.
Mallari said they are conducting a parallel investigation and will await its completion before issuing any conclusions.
“We respect the PNP’s findings, but we want to finish our investigation first before making any definitive statements,” he noted.
In a related development, the DPWH has formally turned over computers and files from Cabral’s office to the Office of the Ombudsman in compliance with a subpoena duces tecum.
Among the files turned over to the ombudsman were requests for the programming of the NEP in the last 10 years, the DPWH noted.
The DPWH said it will also submit the computers and files to the PNP Anti-Cybercrime Group.
“The CPU and files of usec. Cabral have been sealed and delivered to the custody of the Office of the Ombudsman. It will remain sealed until we are able to do a digital forensic test,” Assistant Ombudsman Mico Clavano confirmed.
Congressmen want to probe death
Meanwhile, several lawmakers have filed a joint resolution calling for a “comprehensive congressional investigation” into Cabral’s alleged suicide.
“We have to get to the bottom of this, we have to know not only what happened to her and what her actual genuine cause of death is, but also to find out what she knew and what we can still unearth based on the investigation that we will conduct,” Akbayan party-list Rep. Chel Diokno said.
He also questioned the timing of applications for cyber warrants related to the case, particularly involving DPWH officials who have already been indicted in court.
“We were wondering why is it taking them so long, when they could have done this before the death of Cabral,” Diokno stressed.
Aside from Diokno, other lawmakers who signed the resolution were Perci Cendaña and Dadah Ismula (Akbayan), Edgar Erice (Caloocan), Leila de Lima (ML), Kaka Bag-ao (Dinagat Islands), Krisel Lagman (Albay), Leandro Leviste (Batangas) and Eli San Fernando (Kamanggagawa). — Mark Ernest Villeza, Delon Porcalla, Rainier Allan Ronda, Artemio Dumlao, Daphne Galvez
