Jamaine Punzalan

Then DPWH Undersecretary Catalina Cabral attends a probe into flood control programs. House of Representatives

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FLOOD CONTROL PROJECT

Karen De Guzman

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/176645535068120251219-dpwh-usec-catalina-cabral-HoR (1).jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Then DPWH Undersecretary Catalina Cabral attends a probe into flood control programs. House of Representatives</span></span></span></div><p>MANILA — Investigators may ask the driver of former DPWH Undersecretary Ma. Catalina &quot;Cathy&quot; Cabral to take a polygraph test, the National Bureau of Investigation said Tuesday.</p><p>NBI spokesperson Attorney Palmer Mallari noted that a polygraph is only an investigative tool and not admissible as evidence. It will be used only if necessary, he added. </p><p>“In the event that the investigators are not yet convinced on the statements being offered by a witness, malamang pwedeng maipatawag para may request for polygraph examination,” Mallari said. </p><p>“Pero kung halimbawa naman ang mga imbestigador ay kumbinsido na sa mga nakita nilang ebidensya at ito&#x27;y nagtutugma doon sa statements na ino-offer naman ng particular na witness, malamang wala nang need for a polygraph examination. It&#x27;s actually a hypothetical statement.”</p><p>Mallari said the driver was not under NBI custody.</p><p>Following the police’s remark that initial findings pointed to suicide, the NBI said it would continue its own investigation before making any final conclusion.</p><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display:flex;max-width:560px;width:100%;margin-top:10px;margin-bottom:10px"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameBorder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" style="position:static;visibility:visible;width:0px;height:0px;display:block;flex-grow:1" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-0&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=2003281177688612899&amp;lang=en&amp;maxWidth=560px&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com%2F%23%2Fworkspace%2Fmonitoring%3Fitem%3Durn%3Anewsml%3Aod2-workbench-api.abs-cbn.com%3A2025-12-23T02%3A01%3A09.670373%3Abde03f59-9a9e-4886-b43e-06388ce29686%26action%3Dcorrect&amp;sessionId=faf1a7f932906ec5e7ac4d51a57ebb874d0a876e&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&amp;width=550px" data-tweet-id="2003281177688612899"></iframe></div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560" data-twitter-extracted-i176645602109867176="true"><p dir="ltr" lang="tl">Posibleng isailalim sa polygraph test ang driver ni dating DPWH Usec. Catalina Cabral kung hindi kumbinsido ang mga imbestigador sa kanyang mga pahayag, ayon sa NBI. <a href="https://twitter.com/ABSCBNNews?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ABSCBNNews</a> <a href="https://t.co/Tg783NoLaV">pic.twitter.com/Tg783NoLaV</a></p>— Karen De Guzman (@_KarenDeGuzman) <a href="https://twitter.com/_KarenDeGuzman/status/2003281177688612899?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 23, 2025</a></blockquote><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8"></script><p>Cabral&#x27;s driver earlier said they were traveling along Kennon Road towards La Union when she asked him to stop at Kennon Road and be left there.</p><p>The driver then went to a nearby gasoline station and later returned to the area at around 5 p.m. but failed to see Cabral. </p><p>He then went back to the hotel where Cabral was staying, but she was also not there.</p><p>He reported the incident to the police at around 7 p.m., and at around 8 p.m., Cabral was found unconscious and unresponsive at the side of Bued River, at least 20 meters below the highway.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/12/20/remulla-confirms-viral-selfie-of-cathy-cabral-s-driver-1710">Remulla confirms viral selfie of Cathy Cabral&#x27;s driver</a></div><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/12/22/dilg-on-cathy-cabral-s-death-all-signs-point-to-suicide-0937">DILG on Cathy Cabral&#x27;s death: &#x27;All signs point to suicide&#x27;</a></div><div><br/></div><div><em>This report contains references to possible suicide. If you or someone you know is struggling with depression or suicidal thoughts, help is available. You may contact the National Center for Mental Health (NCMH) Crisis Hotline at 1553 (landline), or 0917-899-8727 and 0919-057-1553 (mobile).</em></div><div><br style="caret-color:rgb(0, 0, 0);color:rgb(0, 0, 0)"/></div><div><br/></div><div><strong></strong><br/></div>

<p>Investigators may ask the driver of former DPWH Undersecretary Ma. Catalina "Cathy" Cabral to take a polygraph test, the National Bureau of Investigation said. </p>

Investigators may ask the driver of former DPWH Undersecretary Ma. Catalina "Cathy" Cabral to take a polygraph test, the National Bureau of Investigation said.

Ex-DPWH usec Cabral’s driver may be asked to take lie detector test: NBI

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Ex-DPWH usec Cabral’s driver may be asked to take lie detector test: NBI

Karen De Guzman,

ABS-CBN News

Published Dec 23, 2025 10:04 AM PHT

|

Updated Dec 23, 2025 01:40 PM PHT

Read More:

DPWH

corruption

flood control

baha

budget insertions

kickbacks

Cabral

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