The recovered body was indeed that of resigned Public Works Undersecretary Catalina Cabral. There were also no indications of foul play.
These were the official pronouncements of the government regarding the death of the career official, who fell into a ravine near Bued River in Tuba, Benguet sometime in the afternoon or evening of Thursday, Dec. 18.
The family has requested that their privacy be respected as they grieve. We acknowledge this need, especially in the context of the unusual circumstance of the passing.
But it would be impossible not to link the death to the infrastructure scandal that the agency, and in fact the entire nation, is facing. After all, Undersecretary Cabral was one of the key figures that would have been able to shed light on how the plunder was enabled over many years. In fact, on the Monday before her death, USec. Cabral was supposed to be at the Independent Commission for Infrastructure, but she did not show up.
While wild speculation has no place in a somber development, it would also be a disservice to the quest for truth if we allow the secrets to remain hidden. After all, what Cabral was involved in was not a personal, private matter. It had to do with billions of pesos in taxpayers’ money, meant to be spent for flood-control projects that would have spared lives and property. The scheme she appeared to have been privy to also involved an ecosystem of executive and legislative officials, local professionals, and private contractors who colluded with each other to enrich themselves at the expense of the people.
We were promised results by Christmas. Some engineers and accountants have been arrested. Local public works officials have returned some money. Sarah Discaya in jail. But there should be more. Zaldy Co is still at large, and former DPWH Secretary Manuel Bonoan did not return from an overseas trip on the day he had promised. ICI hearings have mostly been executive sessions despite pledges of transparency. The commission still lacks the authority to compel resource persons to appear before it. And as of today, a commissioner’s post is vacant.
May the soul of the departed — as well as those who died as a consequence of the flood of corruption — rest in peace. We who remain will not rest until the guilty are held accountable and until genuine systemic reform prevents the recurrence of such abuses. Secrets of such magnitude do not die with the deceased; they simply fester.
