SILG Remulla sees lapses on cops’ turnover of Cabral’s phone to family

Interior and Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla on Friday said there were lapses when the police turned over the belongings, including the cellphone, of former Department of Public Works and Highways undersecretary Maria Catalina Cabral to her family after she was found dead in a ravine in Benguet. 

At a press conference, Remulla was asked if such a move by the cops was aligned with the protocol. 

“It was a crime scene so there were lapses on the part of the investigators. But we are doing everything we can now para ma-retrieve lahat ng mga materials (to retrieve these materials),” he said.

“The cellphone will be analyzed later. We're asking it from the family kasi kinuha nila (because they took it). So we're gonna ask it later,” he added.

PNP acting chief Police Lieutenant General Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. said, “Madali na lang mag-relieve. Tignan na lang muna natin kung anong mangyari, kung anong gagawin.”

(It's easy to relieve officers from their posts. Let's just see what happens.)

Earlier, Benguet Police provincial director Police Colonel Lambert Suerte said the police have yet to secure Cabral's belongings including her cellphone as these were turned over to the family after her body was found.

“Yung mga ari-arian naman niya, pati 'yung sasakyan, na-turn over naman sa family niya…'Yung cellphone, hindi pa natin nakukuha, nasa family pa,” he said in an interview with Super Radyo dzBB.

(Her belongings, including the car, were turned over to her family...We haven't gotten the cellphone yet, it's still with the family.)

Suerte said the family was advised not to delete any information from Cabral’s cellphone.

The Office of the Ombudsman earlier directed authorities in Benguet to secure the cellphone and other gadgets of Cabral.

Nartatez said they would remind their personnel what should be done during similar incidents.

"We will remind them kung ano 'yung tamang gagawin. May mga procedure tayo. Of course, the information was the bag with cellular phone was inside the vehicle," he said.

Persons of interest

The PNP chief also said Cabral's driver is now considered as among the persons of interest in the case. 

"So, 'yung driver ang nag-drive doon. And the driver, of course, siya lang nagda-drive nung sasakyan, di naman sa kanya 'yun, So, supposed to be, 'yung persons of interest, so lahat naman iimbestigahan, including the driver and others who may have information to the incident," said Nartatez.

(The driver brought her there. And the driver, of course, he just drove the vehicle, he is not the owner. So the persons of interest, everything will be part of the investigation, including the driver and others who may have information to the incident.)

"So 'yung sa sakyan, kailangan, dapat nai-seize din natin 'yun or subjected for investigation and other pieces of evidence inside the car and within the vicinity kung saan nahulog," he added.

(The vehicle should have been seized or subjected for investigation and other pieces of evidence inside the car and within the vicinity where the incident happened.)

Remulla said Cabral's remains will undergo DNA testing to confirm her identity as well as an autopsy to determine the cause of her death. 

He said that based on initial reports there is no foul play.

“We are now going to mandate an autopsy at DNA test para sigurado talagang ang manner of death, kung may foul play o wala. But from initial reports, walang foul play,” he said.

(We are now going to mandate an autopsy and DNA test to be absolutely sure of the manner of death, whether there was foul play or not. But from initial reports, there was no foul play.)

“Baka budol-budol ‘to, ‘di ba? So naninigurado lang tayo na siya talaga ‘yan,” he added.

(Maybe this is a fake death, right? So we're just making sure it's really her.)

However, PNP spokesperson Police Brigadier General Randulf Tuaño, in an ambush interview, said Cabral’s family refused to proceed with the autopsy examination.

“Ngayon po, bilang update, sabi po ng regional director, nagbigay po ng waiver ang asawa ng namatay at hindi po sila pumayag sa autopsy examination,” he said.

(Now, as an update, the regional director said, the spouse of the deceased gave a waiver and he did not agree to the autopsy examination.)

Due to this, Tuaño said the PNP legal officers are looking for steps to confirm that the body recovered in Benguet belongs to Cabral.

He also said that Nartatez directed the Police Regional Office-Cordillera and the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group to finish the probe in 36 hours.

Cabral’s computers will also undergo examination, according to Remulla.

“We're also going to have to ask access to the computers or laptops of Usec. Cabral. But that will have to be subject to a subpoena by the Sandiganbayan or by the Ombudsman or the NBI in their investigation,” he said.

On Thursday evening, Cabral was found “unconscious and unresponsive” about 20 to 30 meters below a highway, several hours after she asked her driver to drop her off at a section of Kennon Road.

The Tuba Municipal Station said a municipal doctor pronounced Cabral dead at the scene beside the Bued River at 12:03 a.m. on Friday.

Cabral resigned in September 2025 amid the congressional investigations into anomalous flood control projects and alleged kickbacks by lawmakers and government officials.

Independent Commission for Infrastructure spokesperson Brian Hosaka said on December 11 that the ICI would invite Cabral as a resource person in its investigation into ghost and substandard flood control projects.

Ex-DPWH Undersecretary Roberto Bernardo, in an affidavit he read before the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, implicated several lawmakers and former DPWH officials, including Cabral, in the collection of kickbacks from the anomalous projects.—AOL, GMA Integrated News