MANILA — The Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) said it had issued a subpoena to former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) undersecretary Catalina Cabral prior to her death.

ICI Executive Director Brian Hosaka said the subpoena was coursed through the DPWH “as our procedure involving present and former DPWH officials and personnel.”

“As previously announced by the commission, the last hearing of the ICI for the year was Dec. 15, 2025. Should there have been any subsequent hearings by the commission, Usec. Cabral would have definitely been invited again, especially with her willingness to appear as manifested in her lawyer’s letter. However, we were overtaken by events with the resignation of two of our commissioners and, of course, by the death of Usec. Cabral,” Hosaka told reporters.

Cabral, who was linked to alleged anomalies in flood control projects, was found dead in a ravine in Tuba, Benguet on Dec. 18. Investigations indicated that she jumped to her death.

Hosaka added that Cabral, through her lawyer, had already expressed her willingness to appear again before the ICI and continue cooperating with the government’s investigation into the ghost flood control projects.