Cathy Cabral
Maria Catalina "Cathy" Estamo Cabral was a Filipino civil engineer and government official who served as undersecretary for planning and public-private partnership at the Department of Public Works and Highways in 2014 until her resignation in 2025. She was recognized as the first female rank-and-file employee to rise to the position of undersecretary within the department. She has been described as a "model" for women in infrastructure for her contributions to the public works and engineering sector.
Early life and education
Maria Catalina Estamo Cabral was born on May 23, 1962, in Manila, Philippines. She completed her primary and secondary education at Holy Trinity Academy from 1969 to 1979, according to records published by the Department of Public Works and Highways.Cabral earned a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from the University of the East in 1984 and became a licensed civil engineer shortly thereafter. She later pursued graduate and postgraduate studies in business, economics, and public administration, earning a Master of Business Administration from Manuel L. Quezon University in 1993, a Doctor of Philosophy in Business Management in 1998, and a Doctor in Public Administration in 2001. She subsequently obtained a Master of Economics from the Lyceum of the Philippines University in 2007 and a master's degree in strategic business economics from the University of Asia and the Pacific in 2015. Cabral also completed executive and professional certification programs at the Wharton School, Harvard Kennedy School, and Mohamed bin Zayed University, focusing on data analytics, digital transformation, and artificial intelligence.
Career
Cabral began her career at the Department of Public Works and Highways as a Civil Engineering Aide while completing her degree, entering the agency as a rank‑and‑file employee and working as a working student, before rising through the department's ranks over several decades. After passing the civil engineering licensure examination, she received progressively senior assignments and leadership responsibilities within DPWH, eventually being appointed undersecretary for planning and public‑private partnership in November 2014, where she oversaw national infrastructure planning, programming, and public‑private partnership initiatives implemented by the department. During her tenure she was retained through multiple leadership changes under successive DPWH secretaries. She also served as an alternate member of the board of directors of the National Irrigation Administration.In addition to her roles within DPWH, Cabral broke new ground in the civil engineering profession as the first female national president of the Philippine Institute of Civil Engineers and later as the national president of the Road Engineering Association of the Philippines. She later held the Professional Chair in Engineering Science and Technology at the University of the Philippines in 2021. She was also a commissioned officer in the Armed Forces of the Philippines Reserve Force, holding the rank of lieutenant colonel in the Philippine Army.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Cabral was publicly acknowledged for her involvement in charitable activities. In May 2020, the Justice Jose Abad Santos General Hospital in Manila acknowledged Cabral and her daughter, Gabe Cabral, for donating seven boxes equivalent to 336 cans of food supplies to hospital frontliners.
Controversy
In 2025, Cabral became involved in a controversy over alleged irregular budget insertions and a possible kickback system linked to public infrastructure projects. Reports indicated that she may have facilitated the inclusion of lawmakers' preferred projects in the proposed 2026 national budget, prompting scrutiny from the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee. During hearings, some officials questioned inconsistencies in her statements, and former DPWH officials alleged that she played a key role in determining which projects were included and that some funds may have been diverted as kickbacks. On September 7, Senator Panfilo Lacson alleged that Cabral had contacted staff members of Senate Minority Leader Vicente Sotto III shortly after the May 2025 elections, purportedly asking which budget items they wanted included in the proposed 2026 national budget.Amid the growing scrutiny, Cabral submitted her resignation on September 14, 2025, which was accepted by DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon on September 16. Despite stepping down, she was later summoned to attend Senate hearings as a private citizen to answer further questions about the alleged irregularities.
On December 24, documents that Cabral had allegedly shared prior to her death were made public by Batangas Representative Leandro Leviste. The files, which Cabral was said to have compiled in late 2025, contained purported budget data and project allocations of the DPWH across various legislative districts from 2023 to 2026. Following their release, the authenticity of the documents and the manner in which they were obtained became the subject of dispute among Leviste, the DPWH, and the Office of the Ombudsman.
Personal life
Cabral was married to Cesar Cabral, and they had one daughter.Death
On December 18, 2025, Cabral was found unconscious and unresponsive near the Bued River along Kennon Road in Tuba, Benguet. She was later declared dead by attending physicians shortly after midnight on December 19.According to Baguio Mayor Benjamin Magalong, who chairs the Cordillera Administrative Region’s Regional Peace and Order Council, Cabral had been traveling with her driver earlier that day and had asked to be dropped off along Kennon Road before proceeding to Baguio. Later that afternoon, she again requested to be dropped off near the same area. When she could no longer be located, her driver reported the matter to the police.
Authorities later found Cabral at the side of the Bued River, approximately below the highway. She was retrieved by personnel from the police, emergency services, and the Bureau of Fire Protection, and was pronounced dead at 12:03 a.m. on December 19. Authorities launched an investigation into the circumstances surrounding her death. The Benguet Provincial Police and the Office of the Ombudsman ordered the preservation of Cabral’s mobile phone and other personal devices for forensic examination. Police stated that the area was examined for possible foul play, though no definitive cause of death was immediately established.
Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said that pending autopsy results and witness interviews, individuals who had been with Cabral prior to her death were considered persons of interest, while noting that suicide was initially viewed as unlikely. On December 20, authorities reported that initial findings indicated Cabral died from blunt force trauma, with multiple injuries including fractures to her face and feet. On December 22, officials stated that evidence indicated she had died by suicide.