Ex-DPWH Usec. Cabral found dead in Benguet ravine

By Artemio A. Dumlao, reporter

TUBA, Benguet — Former DPWH Undersecretary Maria Catalina E. Cabral was found dead at a ravine along Kennon Road, Camp 5, here on Thursday evening, December 18, 2025.

Benguet police director Col. Lambert Suerte claimed Ms. Cabral’s driver, Ricardo Munos Hernandez reported the incident.

Ms. Cabral and her driver, police found out, were traveling toward La Union at around 3:00 p.m. when the former DPWH official asked to stop at Maramal, Camp 5, in Tuba.

Ms. Cabral reportedly instructed Mr. Hernandez to leave her while he proceeded to a nearby gasoline station.

Mr. Hernandez returned to the area at around 5:00 p.m. but failed to find Ms. Cabral.

He drove back to a Baguio hotel where they came from but did not find Ms. Cabral. He then drove back to the site where she left Ms. Cabral at 3 p.m. before reporting the matter to the Baguio City Police Office (BCPO) Station 8 along Camp 8 in Baguio City at approximately 7:00 p.m.

Baguio City policemen immediately conducted a search operation and discovered Ms. Cabral around 8:00 p.m. lying unconscious and unresponsive near the Bued River, an estimated 20 to 30 meters below the highway.

Members of the Tuba Municipal Police Station, Tuba Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (MDRRMO), and the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) retrieved Ms. Cabral and brought her to a funeral parlor in Irisan barangay Baguio City.

The Benguet Provincial Forensic Unit has undertaken crime scene investigation to determine the circumstances surrounding the incident.

Police has reportedly held Ms. Cabral’s driver for further questioning upon the request of her family.