Cabral surveyed ravine before jumping to her death — DILG

Former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Undersecretary Catalina Cabral surveyed the ravine in Tuba, Benguet, which may indicate the "seriousness of the intent" to jump to her death, Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Jonvic Remulla said on Sunday.

Remulla was alluding to the initial findings of the investigation, which revealed that Cabral asked her driver to stop at that location before they proceeded to Baguio City, but only to return to that spot hours later.

“Paakyat pa lang ng Baguio, pinatigil niya ang driver sa eksaktong lugar. Tapos naglakad na siya papunta doon sa edge. Nakita sila ng pulis at sinabihan na bawal pumarada doon, kaya dumiretso na sila sa hotel,” Remulla said in a statement.

(While on the way up to Baguio, she had the driver stop at the exact spot. She then walked toward the edge. Police saw them and told them that parking was not allowed, so they proceeded straight to the hotel.)

The Interior secretary said Cabral returned to that spot, supposedly choosing a location where she knew the impact of a fall would be fatal, as the ravine had a drop of about 30 meters, roughly equivalent to a 10-storey building.

“The seriousness of the intent is measured by the lethality of the means,” Remulla said.

Cabral resigned from the DPWH in September amid congressional investigations into alleged fund anomalies in flood control projects, including claims of kickbacks involving lawmakers and government officials.

Earlier, the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) said it would invite Cabral, who used to be DPWH undersecretary for planning, as a resource person in its probe into alleged ghost and substandard flood control projects.

According to Remulla, the autopsy showed no indication of foul play.

“Ang autopsy po, number one, walang signs of foul play. Wala pong ligature marks, walang sinakal, walang gunshot wound, at wala ring knife wounds. Ang cause of death, ayon sa autopsy, ay blunt force trauma mula sa pagbagsak,” he said.

(The autopsy shows, first of all, no signs of foul play. There are no ligature marks, no strangulation, and no gunshot or knife wounds. The cause of death, as determined by the autopsy, is blunt force trauma from the fall.)

The autopsy further revealed severe injuries consistent with a high-impact fall.

“Ang nakita namin ay basag ang kanang bahagi ng mukha at likod ng ulo. Ang mga tadyang niya ay tumusok sa internal organs at bali ang kanyang mga paa,” Remulla said.

(We saw that the right side of her face and the back of her head were crushed. Her ribs punctured her internal organs, and her legs were broken.)

Remulla added that investigators found no signs of a struggle inside the vehicle and no foreign skin DNA under Cabral’s nails. Authorities also ruled out the presence of gunshot wounds.

Cabral's remains arrived in Manila past 3 a.m. on Sunday. —MCG/KG, GMA Integrated News