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 discovered, were traveling toward La Union at around 3:00 p.m. when the previous DPWH official asked to stop at Maramal, Camp 5, in Tuba.
Ms. Cabral reportedly instructed Mr. Hernandez to depart her while he proceeded to a close-by gasoline station.
Mr. Hernandez returned to the world at around 5:00 p.m. but failed to search out Ms. Cabral.
He drove back to a Baguio hotel where they got here from but didn’t find Ms. Cabral. He then drove back to the location 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 roughly 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 find out the circumstances surrounding the incident.
Police has reportedly held Ms. Cabral’s driver for further questioning upon the request of her family.