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BAGUIO CITY, Philippines – Authorities investigating the demise of former Division of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) undersecretary Maria Catalina “Cathy” Cabral confirmed that the location the place she was final seen, and later discovered useless, lies beside a controversial rockfall netting undertaking alongside Kennon Highway that’s already the topic of a deliberate legal criticism.
Baguio Metropolis Mayor Benjamin Magalong stated Cabral requested her driver to depart her close to the rockfall netting space in Purok Maramal, Sitio Camp 5, Barangay Camp 4, Tuba, Benguet — a bit of Kennon Highway the place metal wire mesh had been put in underneath a DPWH rehabilitation undertaking to forestall erosion and falling particles.
Rockfall netting entails anchoring heavy metal mesh to mountain slopes to stabilize free rock surfaces. However Magalong stated documentation submitted to the Unbiased Fee for Infrastructure and to Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon factors to alleged deficiencies not solely within the high quality of labor, but additionally within the sourcing and pricing of the supplies used.
Magalong stated the information already represent a “full case folder” that might assist legal complaints in opposition to engineers from Baguio Metropolis and Benguet who supervised the undertaking, in addition to the contractor concerned.
He added that the contractor’s rock-netting supplies had been equipped by an organization owned by the brother of Benguet Consultant Eric Yap, who has been implicated in a wider public works kickback scandal. Yap’s belongings had been beforehand positioned underneath a freeze order over alleged anomalous infrastructure tasks in La Union involving companies linked to him and his brother.
‘Severely overpriced’
Inside Secretary Jonvic Remulla stated the placement the place Cabral was discovered was vital due to its proximity to the rockfall netting undertaking underneath scrutiny.
In a press briefing on Tuesday, December 23, Remulla stated investigators had been inspecting whether or not Cabral’s presence on the website was related to mounting stress from ongoing probes into the undertaking.
“It’s traditional within the psychological make-up of suicide makes an attempt that they go the place they’re most tormented,” Remulla stated. “On this case, we see a sample of torment due to the rock-netting instances in Benguet, which I believe, down the highway, will implicate her, the congressman, and the contractors who applied the undertaking.”
Remulla burdened that the undertaking was not fictitious however was allegedly grossly overpriced.
“It’s not a ghost undertaking. It’s severely overpriced,” he stated in a mixture of English and Filipino, noting that rockfall netting, which generally prices about P325 per sq. meter, was bought to the federal government for roughly P1,400 per sq. meter.
Final actions
Cabral traveled to Baguio Metropolis on the morning of Thursday, December 18. Primarily based on police accounts relayed by Magalong, she stopped on the similar Kennon Highway location twice that day — as soon as within the morning whereas heading as much as Baguio, and once more within the afternoon, when she requested her driver, Ricardo Hernandez, to depart her there.
Hernandez returned to the location later within the day however might now not discover her, prompting him to report her disappearance at round 7 pm. A search involving police items from Baguio Metropolis and Tuba adopted.
At round 8 pm, Cabral was discovered “unconscious and unresponsive” alongside the Bued River, about 20 to 30 meters beneath Kennon Highway. Her stays had been retrieved near midnight, and she or he was declared useless at 12:03 am on Friday, December 19. An post-mortem report launched on Saturday, December 20, confirmed she died as a result of “blunt traumatic harm in line with a fall.”
Her physique was turned over to her family late Saturday evening, in accordance with Philippine Nationwide Police (PNP) Public Info Workplace chief Brigadier Common Randulf Tuaño.
Resort keep and seized objects
As a part of the investigation, regulation enforcement officers and brokers of the Nationwide Bureau of Investigation served a search warrant on Ion Resort in Baguio Metropolis, the place Cabral had checked in earlier than her demise, to acquire CCTV footage and information of her actions.
Remulla stated CCTV footage reviewed to this point confirmed no indication that Cabral met with anybody throughout her keep, noting that she appeared to go straight to her room.
Police have additionally confirmed {that a} knife and a number of other drugs had been recovered from Cabral’s lodge room. Performing PNP chief Police Lieutenant Common Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. stated the objects had been secured and are being examined as a part of the broader investigation, together with whether or not they had been for private use or in any other case related to figuring out the circumstances of Cabral’s demise.
In the meantime, Assistant Ombudsman Mico Clavano stated on Tuesday that the pc CPU and recordsdata of Cabral from her time as DPWH official “have been sealed and delivered to the custody of the Workplace of the Ombudsman.” These will probably be “subjected to forensic examination…to find out whether or not any knowledge was altered, deleted, or tampered with after the flood management scandal was first made public,” the Workplace of the Ombudsman has stated.
Ion Resort possession examined
Individually, Rappler examined company information and confirmed that Ion Resort is owned by Baguio businessman Ralph Robin Tan, an in depth aide of Yap. Tan turned the controlling proprietor of the lodge’s working firm, Potiel Resort Administration Included, in August 2025, holding 99% of its shares based mostly on filings with the Securities and Change Fee.
Ion Resort has denied studies linking Cabral or Yap to the lodge as homeowners or stakeholders.
“Undersecretary Cabral and Congressman Yap haven’t, and have by no means been, homeowners, shareholders, administrators, officers, or helpful homeowners of Ion Resort,” the lodge’s authorized counsel, Enrique dela Cruz Jr., stated in an announcement, including that the lodge would pursue authorized motion in opposition to these spreading false data.
Authorities stated the lodge’s relevance to the case is proscribed to establishing Cabral’s actions and actions previous to her demise. – with a report from Jairo Bolledo/Rappler.com
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