BAGUIO CITY, Philippines – Authorities investigating the death of former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) undersecretary Maria Catalina “Cathy” Cabral confirmed that the site where she was last seen, and later found dead, lies beside a controversial rockfall netting project along Kennon Road that is already the subject of a planned criminal complaint.

Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong said Cabral asked her driver to leave her near the rockfall netting area in Purok Maramal, Sitio Camp 5, Barangay Camp 4, Tuba, Benguet — a section of Kennon Road where steel wire mesh had been installed under a DPWH rehabilitation project to prevent erosion and falling debris.

Rockfall netting involves anchoring heavy steel mesh to mountain slopes to stabilize loose rock surfaces. But Magalong said documentation submitted to the Independent Commission for Infrastructure and to Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon points to alleged deficiencies not only in the quality of work, but also in the sourcing and pricing of the materials used.

Magalong said the records already constitute a “complete case folder” that could support criminal complaints against engineers from Baguio City and Benguet who supervised the project, as well as the contractor involved.

He added that the contractor’s rock-netting materials were supplied by a company owned by the brother of Benguet Representative Eric Yap, who has been implicated in a wider public works kickback scandal. Yap’s assets were previously placed under a freeze order over alleged anomalous infrastructure projects in La Union involving firms linked to him and his brother.

‘Severely overpriced’

Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said the location where Cabral was found was significant because of its proximity to the rockfall netting project under scrutiny.

In a press briefing on Tuesday, December 23, Remulla said investigators were examining whether Cabral’s presence at the site was connected to mounting pressure from ongoing probes into the project.

“It is usual in the psychological makeup of suicide attempts that they go where they are most tormented,” Remulla said. “In this case, we see a pattern of torment because of the rock-netting cases in Benguet, which I think, down the road, will implicate her, the congressman, and the contractors who implemented the project.”

Remulla stressed that the project was not fictitious but was allegedly grossly overpriced.

“It’s not a ghost project. It’s severely overpriced,” he said in a mix of English and Filipino, noting that rockfall netting, which typically costs about P325 per square meter, was sold to the government for roughly P1,400 per square meter.

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Last movements

Cabral traveled to Baguio City on the morning of Thursday, December 18. Based on police accounts relayed by Magalong, she stopped at the same Kennon Road location twice that day — once in the morning while heading up to Baguio, and again in the afternoon, when she asked her driver, Ricardo Hernandez, to leave her there.

Hernandez returned to the site later in the day but could no longer find her, prompting him to report her disappearance at around 7 pm. A search involving police units from Baguio City and Tuba followed.

At around 8 pm, Cabral was found “unconscious and unresponsive” along the Bued River, about 20 to 30 meters below Kennon Road. Her remains were retrieved close to midnight, and she was declared dead at 12:03 am on Friday, December 19. An autopsy report released on Saturday, December 20, showed she died due to “blunt traumatic injury consistent with a fall.”

Her body was turned over to her relatives late Saturday night, according to Philippine National Police (PNP) Public Information Office chief Brigadier General Randulf Tuaño.

Hotel stay and seized items

As part of the investigation, law enforcement officers and agents of the National Bureau of Investigation served a search warrant on Ion Hotel in Baguio City, where Cabral had checked in before her death, to obtain CCTV footage and records of her movements.

Remulla said CCTV footage reviewed so far showed no indication that Cabral met with anyone during her stay, noting that she appeared to go straight to her room.

Police have also confirmed that a knife and several medications were recovered from Cabral’s hotel room. Acting PNP chief Police Lieutenant General Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. said the items were secured and are being examined as part of the broader investigation, including whether they were for personal use or otherwise relevant to determining the circumstances of Cabral’s death.

Meanwhile, Assistant Ombudsman Mico Clavano said on Tuesday that the computer CPU and files of Cabral from her time as DPWH official “have been sealed and delivered to the custody of the Office of the Ombudsman.” These will be “subjected to forensic examination…to determine whether any data was altered, deleted, or tampered with after the flood control scandal was first made public,” the Office of the Ombudsman has said.

Ion Hotel ownership examined

Separately, Rappler examined corporate records and confirmed that Ion Hotel is owned by Baguio businessman Ralph Robin Tan, a close aide of Yap. Tan became the controlling owner of the hotel’s operating company, Potiel Resort Management Incorporated, in August 2025, holding 99% of its shares based on filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Ion Hotel has denied reports linking Cabral or Yap to the hotel as owners or stakeholders.

“Undersecretary Cabral and Congressman Yap have not, and have never been, owners, shareholders, directors, officers, or beneficial owners of Ion Hotel,” the hotel’s legal counsel, Enrique dela Cruz Jr., said in a statement, adding that the hotel would pursue legal action against those spreading false information.

Authorities said the hotel’s relevance to the case is limited to establishing Cabral’s movements and activities prior to her death. – with a report from Jairo Bolledo/Rappler.com