Cathy Cabral allegedly attempted self-harm amid flood control hearings—lawyer
Warning: This article contains mentions of self-harm and suicide.
The late Department of Public Works and Highways Undersecretary Maria Catalina "Cathy" Cabral allegedly attempted self-harm after being implicated in the flood control scandal, according to her lawyer.
In an interview with ANC, Atty. Mae Divinagracia said she and Cabral's family have ruled out the possibility of foul play in the former official's passing.
"[We] cannot say with certainty that it was suicide, but it was a possibility that we've considered," Divinagracia answered.
She also noted that Cabral refused to seek professional help despite their advice.
"Ayaw niya kasi na it be put on record that she's suffering from a mental illness, so there's no clinical diagnosis. But layman's perspective, we've observed how she spiraled into depression," the lawyer said.
"Every time we would meet in our office, even after a meeting, she would request to just stay in our office. We would let her stay in a vacant room in our office. We would give her food. Sometimes, she would just eat very little. May times, she would call me three hours in the morning just to discuss matters that we've already discussed and which I've already explained to her."
Divinagracia then revealed that Cabral had made previous attempts to harm herself after ex-DPWH undersecretary Roberto Bernardo accused her of having control over the DPWH National Expenditure Program and computing “allocables” for public officials.
The lawyer added that the self-harm began after Cabral was allegedly asked to submit her courtesy resignation.
"She felt that she was being used as a scapegoat for the men or the individuals who are really culpable or responsible for this flood control mess," Divinagracia claimed.
She added that Cabral's daughter stopped one of the ex-undersecretary's attempts and that she was taken to the hospital.
Divinagracia said that Cabral attended Senate hearings, as she wanted to air her side.
"She didn't want to do it before the court of public opinion. She wanted to do it before the proper fora. So that's why she was willing to attend all hearings she was invited in," she explained.
Cabral died after she allegedly fell from a ravine along Kennon Road in Tuba, Benguet, on Dec. 18.
According to Benguet Police, Cabral and her driver, Ricardo Hernandez, were on their way to La Union at around 3 p.m. when they made a stopover along Kennon Road, where Cabral requested to be left alone.
Hernandez said he went to a nearby gasoline station before returning to the area at around 5 p.m., but Cabral was nowhere in sight.
He searched the area before going to Cabral's hotel in Baguio City, but did not find her there. He then reported the incident to the police at around 7 p.m., where they later found Cabral's lifeless body below the highway along a riverbank.
The Philippine National Police said that the antidepressant drug Citalopram was detected in Cabral's body.
An earlier autopsy report detailed that the former official died of "blunt traumatic head injury consistent with a fall."
Cabral is one of the former DPWH officials accused of facilitating budget insertions through the National Expenditure Program by way of substandard and ghost projects and is facing administrative charges.
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If you think you, your friend, or your family member is considering self-harm or suicide, you may call the National Mental Health Crisis Hotline at 1553 (Luzon-wide, landline toll-free), 0966-351-4518 or 0917-899-USAP (8727) for Globe/TM users, or 0908-639-2672 for Smart users.
