MANILA — Former Public Works undersecretary Maria Catalina Cabral did not receive any subpoena or invitation to attend the Independent Commission for Infrastructure’s (ICI) hearing in December, her legal counsel said.

Cabral’s counsel, Mae Divinagracia, said the former official only learned about the hearing scheduled for December 15, 2025, from news reports and “skipped the hearing” unintentionally. Divinagracia stressed that Cabral had “no intention whatsoever of avoiding inquiry” and was willing to attend hearings to present her side.

“She wanted to air her side and she didn’t want to do it before the court of public opinion. She wanted to do it in the proper fora, that’s why she was willing to attend all hearings she was invited to,” Divinagracia said in an interview with ANC’s Headstart on January 5.

The ICI had previously said it did not receive confirmation from Cabral on whether she would attend. Divinagracia noted in a letter sent to the commission on December 15, 2025, that Cabral had already cooperated during a closed-door hearing on September 29, 2025, answering all questions regarding the Department of Public Works and Highways’ (DPWH) budget.

“Rest assured that Ms. Cabral remains committed to cooperating with this Honorable Commission in ferreting out the truth on the alleged flood control project anomalies,” the letter read.

Divinagracia also noted that the subpoena may have been sent to Cabral’s DPWH email, despite her resignation, rather than her personal email. The ICI confirmed that the subpoena, dated December 9, 2025, was “coursed through the DPWH,” consistent with their procedure for present and former officials.

“The ICI issued a subpoena dated Dec 9, 2025 to Usec. Cabral and it was coursed through the DPWH as is our procedure involving present and former DPWH officials and personnel. We also announced in a press conference last Dec. 11, 2025 that Usec. Cabral was asked to appear before the commission on Dec. 15, 2025,” ICI Executive Director Brian Hosaka said.

Cabral died four days after her scheduled hearing. She was found unconscious on December 19, 2025, after falling into a ravine along Kennon Road in Benguet.

Her death has intensified scrutiny over the documents she held as former undersecretary for planning and public-private partnerships, a role that oversaw DPWH budget proposals and district-level allocations. Cabral had confirmed creating the “parametric formula” used to set allocations from 2023 to 2025, following instructions from former DPWH secretary Manuel Bonoan. However, her counsel said former Rep. Elizaldy Co later adjusted the proposed allocations, allegedly overriding the formula.

Cabral was among the potential witnesses in the ongoing investigation into the flood control corruption scandal. Her death has left investigators and the public seeking to verify the so-called “Cabral files,” which contain records of multi-billion-peso infrastructure projects, but government agencies have yet to authenticate the documents.