Cabral did not receive subpoena, but ICI says it was sent to DPWH

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MANILA, Philippines — Former Public Works undersecretary Maria Catalina Cabral did not receive any subpoena or invitation to attend the Independent Commission for Infrastructure's (ICI) hearing in December, her legal counsel said. 

According to counsel Mae Divinagracia, Cabral only learned about the invitation from news reports, stating that she "skipped the hearing" scheduled for Dec. 15, 2025. However, Cabral was actually willing to attend the hearing and had "no intention whatsoever of avoiding inquiry." 

Divinagracia sent a letter to the ICI that same day seeking clarification regarding the notice of a subpoena or invitation. The ICI shared the letter with reporters on Tuesday, January 6. 

"She wanted to air her side and she didn't want to do it before the court of public opinion. She wanted to do it in the proper fora, that’s why she was willing to attend all hearings she was invited to," she said in an interview with ANC's Headstart on Monday, January 5. 

It can be recalled that the independent body said it did not receive any confirmation from Cabral whether she would attend the hearing.

However, Divinagracia argued in the letter that Cabral had already cooperated with the ICI when she was first invited to a closed-door hearing on Sept. 29, 2025, and appeared to answer all questions they had about the Department of Public Works and Highways' (DPWH) budget.  

"Rest assured that Ms. Cabral remains committed to cooperating with this Honorable Commission in ferreting out the truth on the alleged flood control project anomalies," the letter read. 

Divinagracia said in her Monday interview that she received reports that the subpoena was sent to Cabral's DPWH email despite her resignation, instead of her personal email. In response, the ICI clarified Tuesday that the subpoena was in fact "coursed through the DPWH." 

"The ICI issued a subpoena dated Dec 9, 2025 to Usec. Cabral and it was coursed through the DPWH as is our procedure involving present and former DPWH officials and personnel. We also announced in a press conference last Dec. 11, 2025 that Usec. Cabral was asked to appear before the commission on Dec. 15, 2025," ICI Executive Director Brian Hosaka told reporters in a message. 

Cabral died four days after her scheduled hearing. She was found unconscious on Dec. 19, 2025, when she fell into a ravine from Kennon Road in Benguet. 

Her death has prompted broader scrutiny and raised further questions about the documents she held as former undersecretary for planning and public-private partnerships — a role that gave her oversight of the DPWH’s budget proposals and so-called "allocables."

She had confirmed creating the "parametric formula" that originally set district-level allocations from 2023 to 2025, following instructions from former DPWH secretary Manuel Bonoan. However, the House leadership allegedly did not comply with the formula, and former Rep. Elizaldy Co adjusted the proposed allocations, Cabral’s legal counsel said.

Cabral was just one of the potential witnesses unfolding the corruption tied to the flood control scandal, but her death has led the public and investigators scrambling for the paper trail instead. Yet, to date, government agencies have not yet authenticated the so-called "Cabral files," containing the proponents of the multi-billion-peso infrastructure projects.