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Advocates Philippines
Former DPWH Undersecretary Found Dead In Benguet
Photo credit: Congress PH
Former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Undersecretary Maria Catalina Cabral’s body was retrieved Friday (December 19).
Authorities are investigating the circumstances in the discovery of her body near Kennon Road in Tuba, Benguet.
According to a report from the Benguet Police Provincial Office, Cabral was found unresponsive about 20 to 30 meters below the highway.
Police said Cabral had been traveling earlier that afternoon with her driver, Ricardo Munos Hernandez, 56, aboard a blue Toyota Carnival on their way toward La Union.
At around 3:00 p.m., Cabral reportedly asked her driver to stop along Kennon Road in the area of Camp 5 and requested to be left there. The driver complied and proceeded to a nearby gasoline station.
Hernandez told investigators that he returned to the area around 5:00 p.m. but could no longer find Cabral.
He searched the vicinity and later went to a hotel in Baguio City where he thought she might have gone, but she was not there.
He returned to Kennon Road at around 7:00 p.m. to continue searching, still without success.
Concerned, the driver went to Viewdeck Station 8 of the Baguio City Police Office to report Cabral’s disappearance.
Police officers immediately responded and searched the area.
At around 8:00 p.m., Cabral was found lying by the side of the Bued River, unconscious and unresponsive.
Personnel from the Tuba Municipal Police Station coordinated with the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office and the Bureau of Fire Protection to retrieve the victim.
The Benguet Provincial Forensic Unit was also alerted to conduct a scene-of-the-crime operation.
Authorities said further investigation is ongoing, and a progress report will be released as more details become available.
Authorities are investigating the circumstances in the discovery of her body near Kennon Road in Tuba, Benguet.
According to a report from the Benguet Police Provincial Office, Cabral was found unresponsive about 20 to 30 meters below the highway.
Police said Cabral had been traveling earlier that afternoon with her driver, Ricardo Munos Hernandez, 56, aboard a blue Toyota Carnival on their way toward La Union.
At around 3:00 p.m., Cabral reportedly asked her driver to stop along Kennon Road in the area of Camp 5 and requested to be left there. The driver complied and proceeded to a nearby gasoline station.
Hernandez told investigators that he returned to the area around 5:00 p.m. but could no longer find Cabral.
He searched the vicinity and later went to a hotel in Baguio City where he thought she might have gone, but she was not there.
He returned to Kennon Road at around 7:00 p.m. to continue searching, still without success.
Concerned, the driver went to Viewdeck Station 8 of the Baguio City Police Office to report Cabral’s disappearance.
Police officers immediately responded and searched the area.
At around 8:00 p.m., Cabral was found lying by the side of the Bued River, unconscious and unresponsive.
Personnel from the Tuba Municipal Police Station coordinated with the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office and the Bureau of Fire Protection to retrieve the victim.
The Benguet Provincial Forensic Unit was also alerted to conduct a scene-of-the-crime operation.
Authorities said further investigation is ongoing, and a progress report will be released as more details become available.
Dec 19, 2025
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