The former undersecretary of public works and highways is dead. Does her death free her from accountability? Many lawyers think otherwise.
Cabral chose the wrong time to die. The nation is in the grip of uncovering the evildoers behind the massive infrastructure corruption dynamite. She headed an office in the DPWH that acted as orchestra conductor of all budget insertions, overseeing the agency’s infrastructure planning and programming since 2014.
That position was extremely strategic: she knew how much the “allocables” were and for whom. She was the main operator with the imprimatur of secretaries Mark Villar and Manny Bonoan, testified former DPWH official Roberto Bernardo. That means the Cabral orchestra of corruption sat through during the entire six years of Rodrigo Duterte.
Cabral had the control buttons, with the approval of the secretary, “to remove, include, add, deduct, or modify insertions in the National Expenditure Program for infrastructure and those pertaining to the DPWH,” revealed Bernardo.
After Cabral, it will be impossible to think of Mark Villar as corruption free. He sustained her in the position for a full six years. The time for feigning innocence is over for Villar. We look forward to his arrest and imprisonment.
Immediately after Tito Sotto won his senatorial race this May 2025 election, Cabral was hot on the phone:
“Sir baka po may priority po kayo 500 for now. para ma-vet ko po for redundancy, overlap, prior funding, correct location and alignment to national priorities and consistency with menu for local projects po… para masama ko po sa NEP sir.”
Confronted by secretary Vince Dizon, she categorically denied it. “She said she had NEVER reached out,” Dizon said. Cornered by Sen. Ping Lacson’s screenshot of the Viber message, she told Dizon that she was merely trying to ask Sotto if he had proposals to make. Cabral was skillful.
Cabral’s death is of important public interest because of her direct involvement. Unfortunately, she cannot bring her knowledge to her grave. That knowledge is still in the here and now. And that is why the questions must begin now.
For one, the DPWH documents from her office will be extant, if not for hard copy documents, at least in the department’s database. Said now to have been acquired from Cabral as secret documents by Leandro Leviste, the attention-challenged little boy will not be above the law like a mama’s boy.
For another, it will be easy to trace all of Cabral’s properties and bank accounts – innuendoes for now, but assets and financial records can be examined by investigators.
Unverified social media reports claim that Cabral had “11-digits” in cold cash, meaning at least 10 billion pesos. Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla’s estimate is P20 billion.
“My personal opinion, if she has been there for the last eight or nine years, I would say P20 billion is a good guess,” he said during a Dec. 24 news briefing.
That won’t be a puzzle as bank records can be examined. There will be a paper trail for these assets, hence can be investigated. Even though she is now dead, the court may decide to investigate her husband Cesar Cabral instead, as one lawyer had suggested.
That won’t be a puzzle as bank records can be examined. There will be a paper trail for these assets, hence can be investigated. Even though she is now dead, the court may decide to investigate her husband Cesar Cabral instead, as one lawyer had suggested.
The beneficial owner of her properties can be traceable. Loose talks on social media cite the value of P2.5 billion for her properties. The interior secretary, however, said these may include two properties in such gated communities as Forbes Park and at least three properties in Corinthian Gardens. These are prime real estate (Forbes Park at least P500,000++ per square meter; Corinthian Gardens at least P350,000++ per square meter).
Bilyonaryo News Channel claims the properties are held in trust by a contractor. However, BNC is a problematic source to be cited as it does not name sources that are verifiable and can be vetted. At best, it can be akin to a troll farm.
Then her alleged ownership of Ion Hotel (formerly Holiday Inn Baguio City Centre) is another. What ties did she truly have with the owner David Sanchez? Was she truly instrumental in selling it to Robin Tan, a known political associate of the Duterte acolyte Eric Yap? These questions have tremendous bearings on the corruption mess. The possible association alone with the already implicated Yap is explosive.
Death does not free Cathy Cabral from accountability. In fact, the ordeal for her heirs had only begun. The law has many avenues it can use, even if her husband and children have already reportedly initiated some legal protective layers to her assets and properties.
One lawyer friend gave the most apt epitaph of Cathy Cabral: She is more than a big fish. She is the system itself. She is the computer. She is the technology programmed to steal and corrupt. DPWH Secretaries come and go. But Cabral? She is the gravity. She is the constant.
The truth didn’t fall down the ravine of Kennon Road.
The views in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of VERA Files.