Former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Undersecretary Maria Catalina "Cathy" Cabral has died following a tragic incident where her vehicle plunged into a deep ravine along the historic Kennon Road in Benguet.
Timeline of a Tragic Evening
The sequence of events began on the afternoon of Thursday, December 18, 2025. Cabral, accompanied by her 56-year-old driver Ricardio Hernandez, left Baguio City and was traveling towards the lowlands. According to the initial investigation led by Capt. Leobert Cadingan, the officer of the day at the Tuba Municipal Police Station, the trip took a strange turn while on Kennon Road.
Past 8 p.m., Cabral reportedly asked Hernandez to stop the vehicle and leave her alone. The driver complied. However, when he returned to the location, both Cabral and the vehicle were gone. After an unsuccessful search, Hernandez returned to Cabral's hotel in Baguio City and later reported her disappearance to Baguio City Police Station 8.
Search, Recovery, and Official Pronouncement
Police from Station 8 immediately coordinated with the Tuba police and the local disaster risk reduction office to launch a search and rescue operation. The teams eventually located the vehicle and Cabral along the Bued River, which flows an estimated 20 to 30 meters below the highway.
The former official was rushed to the Benguet General Hospital and Medical Center. Tragically, she was pronounced dead at 12:03 a.m. on Friday, December 19, 2025. Authorities have coordinated with the Scene of the Crime Operations (SOCO) team as the investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident continues.
A Figure from Past Controversies
The death of Maria Catalina Cabral brings a close to a chapter for a former official who was no stranger to controversy. Cabral was among those previously implicated in the so-called "flood control mess," a scandal that had cast a shadow over her tenure at the DPWH. The ongoing police investigation aims to piece together the final hours leading to her fatal fall on one of Northern Luzon's most famous and winding roads.
