The Philippine National Police (PNP) said a 3D scan of the ravine in Benguet where former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) undersecretary Maria Catalina Cabral was found suggests that she likely slid off the slope rather than being pushed.
PNP Forensic Group officer-in-charge Police Colonel Pierre Paul Carpio explained during a press briefing that Cabral’s body was discovered only about 0.2 meters from the base of the ravine. He noted that if she had been pushed, her body would likely have landed farther away.
Carpio added that scratches found on Cabral’s hands and back support the theory that she slid down the ravine. Authorities said these physical findings are consistent with a fall rather than an act of force by another person.
Cabral was found unconscious and unresponsive on December 18, around 20 to 30 meters below Kennon Road in Tuba, Benguet, hours after reportedly asking her driver to drop her off along the road. A municipal doctor later pronounced her dead on December 19 beside the Bued River.
According to police, the autopsy showed that Cabral died from blunt force injuries to the head and body caused by a fall from height. The PNP has completed several forensic examinations, including fingerprint, DNA, and histopathology tests. Initial findings continue to point toward suicide, although investigations are ongoing.
Cabral had resigned from the DPWH in September 2025 amid investigations into alleged anomalies in flood control projects. A plunder case related to these projects was reportedly set for referral to the Office of the Ombudsman before her death.
