DNA testing on body, retrieval of Cabral’s gadgets ordered

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December 20, 2025 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — The Office of the Ombudsman has directed authorities in Benguet to take custody of the cell phone and other gadgets of former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) undersecretary Maria Catalina Cabral, amid its ongoing investigation on the flood control scam.

Assistant Ombudsman Mico Clavano said in a statement sent via Viber on Thursday night that Cabral’s cell phone and other gadgets should be “turned over to the investigators at the proper time.”

“We need her phone at ALL COST!” he said. 

Cabral was among the government officials being investigated by the ombudsman in connection with the flood control project anomalies.

A career DPWH official, she resigned from her post last September after being implicated in the alleged budget insertions for ghost flood control projects in exchange for kickbacks.

At a press conference yesterday, Clavano reiterated the importance of securing Cabral’s cellphone and other gadgets as information to be extracted from them would be crucial in the ombudsman’s ongoing investigation.

He said Cabral’s family has been cooperative so far, especially when it comes to allowing her remains to be subjected to autopsy, and they are hopeful that the family will also cooperate with the request to turn over her gadgets to authorities. 

Meanwhile, Clavano admitted that the ombudsman was eyeing criminal cases against Cabral over her alleged involvement in budget insertions for ghost flood control projects.

“So, (her death) is a blow of sorts to our investigation, but there is also opportunity, because the object evidence can still stand in court, we can still recover them,” he added.

Clavano said Cabral last attended the preliminary investigation hearing of the ombudsman on Dec. 3 wherein she was interviewed by about five prosecutors.

Nonetheless, Clavano said the investigation points to Cabral as among the key figures in the flood control scam. 

“Because she was the one who supposedly inserted (flood control projects) in the NEP (National Expenditure Program),” he said.

Meanwhile, at a separate press conference, Department of Justice (DOJ) National Prosecution Service (NPS) prosecutor general Richard Anthony Fadullon admitted that the death of Cabral is an added challenge in investigating higher officials involved in the flood control scam. 

Fadullon said there is one case set to be referred by the DOJ to the ombudsman for evaluation, involving not only Cabral, but several other flood control project proponents. 

DNA test, autopsy

Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla has ordered an autopsy and DNA test on the body found in a ravine in Tuba, Benguet on Thursday, to confirm that it was indeed Cabral.

“The family positively identified her already, but we cannot rely on that alone, because again, there may be trickery in play. We’ll find out,” he told a news briefing at Camp Crame.

Apart from an autopsy to determine if there was foul play, Remulla has ordered the Philippine National Police (PNP) to conduct DNA testing on Cabral’s remains. 

Remulla explained the positive identification by Cabral’s family is not enough, given that there have been other wanted fugitives who faked their own deaths to elude arrest.

Acting PNP chief Lt. Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. wants all angles looked into to come up with a clear picture of what really happened.

Efforts to subject Cabral’s body to an autopsy hit a snag after her husband signed a waiver for an examination.

Police officers who were first on the scene also committed lapses when they turned over Cabral’s cellphone and other gadgets, which may contain relevant information related to the flood control scandal, to her family, Remulla said. — Emmanuel Tupas, Jose Rodel Clapano