SILG Remulla: DNA, fingerprints confirm it was Cabral's body found off Kennon Road

Interior and Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla on Saturday confirmed that the remains of a woman found in Tuba, Benguet were that of former Department of Public Works and Highways undersecretary Catalina Cabral.

“Yes, DNA, fingerprints results are consistent na siya ‘yun,” Remulla said in a 24 Oras Weekend report by Bea Pinlac on Saturday.

(It was Cabral.)

Meanwhile, in a separate Dobol B TV interview, Remulla said the autopsy showed there was no foul play involved.

“‘Yung autopsy po ay number one, no signs of foul play. Wala pong ligature marks, wala pong sinakal, wala pong gunshot wound, wala rin pong knife wounds. So ang kaniyang cause of death as determined by autopsy is blunt force trauma from the fall,” Remulla said.

(The autopsy shows that number one, there are no signs of foul play. There are no ligature marks, no strangulation, and no gunshot or knife wounds either. So her cause of death as determined by the autopsy is blunt force trauma from a fall.)

DILG Sec Remulla: I think it's almost solve (kaso ni dating DPWH USec Cabral) , hinihintay lang namin na ma-examine 'yung hotel room... all signs points to a suicide pic.twitter.com/jYgF64a5Dy

— DZBB Super Radyo (@dzbb) December 20, 2025

Severe injuries

The DILG Secretary further described that Cabral sustained severe injuries.

“So 'yung kanang bahagi po ng mukha niya ay sira. 'Yung likod ng ulo niya ay basag din. Ang kaniyang rib sa kanan rin ay tinusok ang kaniyang internal organs. Tapos ang parehong kaniyang kamay ay bali rin. So far, no signs of foul play,” said Remulla.

(The right side of her mouth is broken. The back of her head is also broken. Her right rib showed that her internal organs seemed to be pierced. Both of her hands had fractures as well. So far, there are no signs of foul play.)

The DILG secretary said Cabral went down 30 meters from the side of Kennon Road, as if she fell from a 10-storey building.

“Consistent siya na blunt force trauma ang cause of death,” he said.

(It is consistent that she died of blunt force trauma.)

Foul play?

Remulla also pointed out that there were no signs of foul play regarding the death of Cabral.

“So far, no signs of foul play. ‘Yung kaniyang kotse ay walang nakitang [signs of] struggle ‘yung lugar na ‘yun ay walang nakakita ng kahit anumang anomalya doon.”

Ricardo Hernandez, Cabral’s driver, however, remained a person of interest in the case.

When asked of the possibility that Cabral was intentionally pushed off the road, Remulla said, “Noong 8 a.m. una sila nang dumaan du’n, lumabas na siya ng kotse, napatigil du’n at umupo na po kung saan siya tumalon. Nakita lang siya ng pulis.”

(At 8 a.m. when they first passed by, she got out of the car, stopped there and sat down where she had also jumped later on. The police just saw her.)

“Bumalik siya ng kotse at umakyat ng hotel. Pag-akyat ng hotel, mag-isa naman siyang tumira roon. Tapos after one hour bumaba rin tsaka siya bumaba na naman sa very same spot at du’n na nakita nangyari lahat,” Remulla said.

(She got back in her car and went to the hotel. When she entered the hotel, she stayed there alone. After an hour she went down and got down again at the very same spot and that’s where authorities saw everything that happened.) 

No suicide note

Further, authorities found no suicide note in connection to Cabral's death.

“Wala kaming nakuhang suicide note. So we have to assume that this is a mental health issue,” said Remulla. 

(We did not recover a suicide note.)

Authorities continue to coordinate with the family of Cabral to retrieve her cellphone.

“Ang sabi ng husband ay after cremation daw,” Remulla said.

(The husband said they will give it after her cremation.)

Authorities are set to get a warrant to examine the hotel room where Cabral last checked in before the tragedy.

Remulla added that police have seen the CCTV footage from the hotel.

Meanwhile, the lawyer of Cabral’s family sent a letter to the hotel to prevent any activity in Cabral’s hotel room, particularly any examination without any court order or search warrant.

“We remind everyone that, to date, not a single complaint, whether criminal, civil or administrative, has been filed against her that would legally justify the seizure of any of her personal effects. The calls for the seizure of her phone and other personal belongings are, thus, unwarranted,” Cabral’s kin said in a statement.

Lapses in investigation

The chief of Tuba, Benguet municipal police has been relieved from his post due to lapses in the investigation of Cabral's death.

The NBI has urged motorists who recently traveled along Kennon Road to provide dashcam footage of the area where Cabral was last seen alive in Tuba, Benguet.

Cabral's family slammed remarks that they allegedly faked her death, saying these were inconsiderate.

“DNA testing is likewise unwarranted, given that her family has already positively identified her remains. Claims and insinuations that she and her family faked her death are not only insensitive and inappropriate, they are utterly reckless and baseless,” the family said in a statement.

A seasoned bureaucrat once described as a "model" for "Women in Infrastructure," Cabral found herself embroiled in the flood control project anomalies.

The Department of Justice was supposed to refer to the Ombudsman a plunder case that involved Cabral in relation to the alleged anomalous flood control projects in Bulacan before her death, Prosecutor General Richard Fadullon said in a press conference on Friday. —Jamil Santos/ VAL, GMA Integrated News