Metro Manila, Philippines – A three dimensional (3D) scan of the site where the body of former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Undersecretary Catalina Cabral was found showed that she may have slid – and was not pushed – off the cliff along a highway in Benguet, the Philippine National Police said.
In a briefing on Monday, Dec. 29, PNP Forensic Group officer-in-charge PCol Pierre Paul Carpio said Cabral fell off nearly 17 meters, or six to nine building floors.
Carpio debunked allegations that Cabral might have been pushed to her death as her body was found less than a meter from the base of the ravine.
“Kung tinulak ito, chances are lalayo pa siya doon. So makikita nyo dito ang kamay niya ay mas gasgas pati ‘yung likod may gasgas. So ang laki ng probabilidad na nagpadausdos siya,” Carpio said.
[Translation: If she was pushed, she may have landed farther. So you can see here that her hand is scratched and her back is scratched as well. So the probability was that she slid off.]
A police toxicology report previously revealed that Cabral’s body tested positive for an antidepressant drug.
Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla earlier said the ex-DPWH official’s autopsy showed that she died of “blunt traumatic injury consistent with a fall” and also ruled out a possible foul play.
Cabral was tied to anomalous flood control infrastructure projects and was a key personality in ongoing probes on the kickback scheme corruption scandal.
The PNP said a matching fingerprint test result confirms that the body found in Benguet was Cabral’s but authorities are still waiting for DNA reference samples from the bereaved family for further verification.
