The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has handed over all computers, devices, and work-related files issued to former undersecretary Maria Catalina Cabral to the Office of the Ombudsman, in compliance with a subpoena ordering the production of these materials.
In a statement released Tuesday, the DPWH said the turnover was made pursuant to a Subpoena Duces Tecum issued by the Ombudsman. The materials include documents and records covering requests and considerations related to the National Expenditure Program (NEP) over the past 10 years, among other files connected to Cabral’s work at the agency.
The documents and devices were formally submitted by DPWH undersecretaries Nicasio Conti, Arthur Bisnar, Ricardo Bernabe III, and Charles Calima Jr. The Ombudsman is expected to subject the materials to further examination as part of its ongoing investigation into alleged irregularities involving flood control projects.
Cabral, who had been linked to supposed anomalies in flood control spending, was found unconscious on December 18 below a highway in Tuba, Benguet, and was pronounced dead shortly after midnight the following day. Her death has drawn public attention due to her previous involvement in budget planning and infrastructure programming.
Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla earlier said Cabral had surveyed a ravine before her death, which could suggest intent, though the Philippine National Police (PNP) has stressed that its investigation remains ongoing and that no final conclusion has been reached.
Cabral resigned from the DPWH in September amid congressional probes into alleged kickbacks, ghost projects, and substandard flood control works, which also prompted the Independent Commission for Infrastructure to seek her testimony before her death.
