Ombudsman wants cyber warrants to secure Cathy Cabral’s gadgets

MANILA, Philippines – The Office of the Ombudsman said on Friday, December 19, that they will seek the issuance of cyber warrants to take custody of the gadgets left by late former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) undersecretary Maria Catalina “Cathy” Cabral.

“Cyber warrants are needed in cases like these. [There] are contents that you find in a computer or a device that [are] subject to the rules of the application for cyber warrants,” Assistant Ombudsman Mico Clavano told reporters on Friday.

“So, that is definitely something that we have started to work on…. This would be the best time to move for the custody and preservation of the contents in her devices and gadgets,” he added.

Cabral, the alleged brains behind budget insertions through the DPWH, was found unconscious in Benguet on Thursday, December 18. Shortly after authorities retrieved her body, she was pronounced dead on Friday, December 19.

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On Friday morning, the Ombudsman immediately issued a statement, urging Benguet authorities to secure Cabral’s belongings as they may contain possible evidence.

Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Juanito Victor “Jonvic” Remulla, in a presser, told reporters that the local police had “lapses” in handling the crime scene. He confirmed that Cabral’s gadgets were not turned over to the authorities, but rather, to Cabral’s family.

“It was a crime scene. So, there were lapses on the part of the investigators. But we are doing everything we can now to retrieve [all the] materials,” the DILG chief said.

Former DPWH undersecretary Roberto Bernardo alleged in his testimony that Cabral was the main operator of the kickback system in the agency, along with former public works chiefs Mark Villar (Duterte administration) and Manuel Bonoan (Marcos administration). Bernardo also accused Cabral of being behind the budget insertions that go through the DPWH.

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On Friday, Clavano stated that there is information indicating Cabral was said to have possessed a list of all proponents of these infrastructure insertions.

However, despite appearing before the Ombudsman on December 3, Cabral did not provide any information that could aid the government probe into the multibillion corruption.

Cabral herself faced multiple investigations for possible cases due to her role in the alleged insertions, but none of these probes resulted in any filing of charges with the courts. – Rappler.com