Flood mess probe seen to stand even with Cabral gone
Bicol Saro Rep. Terry Ridon on Saturday said authorities could reach out to the staff members of the late former Public Works Undersecretary Maria Catalina Cabral to testify on alleged insertions and kickbacks linked to flood control projects.
His statement follows the creation of a legal team tasked to explore ways to seek accountability even after the former official’s sudden death.
Ridon, who chairs the House committee on infrastructure, also said investigations into the alleged corruption in government projects could still continue even without Cabral, who was found dead on a mountainside in Tuba, Benguet, shortly after midnight on Friday.
“If it’s a document that is official and it is in a laptop of the [Department of Public Works and Highways], and it was not just Undersecretary Cabral that had access to it or created that file, it’s not necessary that she alone will give testimony that it actually exists,” he said.
Authorities, Ridon added, can question assistant secretaries, staff directors and other DPWH officials who were involved in the planning and budgeting processes and who could authenticate documents and testify on how the alleged corruption was carried out.
Civil liability
“She could have been one of the better resource persons, but again, it’s not just a single person,” Ridon said.
Assistant Ombudsman Mico Clavano disclosed on Friday that his office had formed a team that will “discuss and analyze” options available regarding the possibility of pursuing civil forfeiture cases against Cabral and her estate.
“Even after a person’s death, accountability still has to be exacted especially when it involves public funds,” Clavano told reporters on Friday. “Our hope and our goal here is to make sure that … every cent, every peso that are found to be ill-gotten and are with the estate of former Undersecretary Cabral, then, it has to be returned to the government.”
This was echoed by Prosecutor General Richard Anthony Fadullon, who said that while the death of a person extinguishes their criminal liability, civil liability can survive even after death.
Criminal vs civil
“[T]hat is the reason why we will continue to proceed with the possible filing of civil forfeiture cases just to make sure that we can get hold of preserved assets,” Fadullon said also on Friday.
The Anti-Money Laundering Council has been tapped to identify whether Cabral had any illegally amassed wealth.
Paolo Tamase, associate dean and professor at the University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman College of Law, however, said the Office of the Ombudsman and the Department of Justice (DOJ) must carefully weigh their options in pursuing an airtight civil case against Cabral’s estate.
Tamase explained that in every criminal liability, there is an equivalent civil obligation on the part of the accused. He said criminal penalty involves imprisonment or fine while civil penalties, on the other hand, may involve a “range of penalties,” including payment of damages and forfeiture of illegally acquired properties.
Criminal cases filed before the Sandiganbayan, by default, already entail civil action against the accused, Tamase said.
“So, you can imagine the complication … Normally, the civil action has to be instituted with the criminal case but because [Cabral] has died, you can’t file a criminal case against her anymore,” Tamase told the Inquirer by phone.
Forfeiture proceedings
If Cabral was still alive, Tamase said, the case would have to be filed before the Sandiganbayan.
“But because she passed before the criminal case was filed against her … then that is where it could be doubtful. But in any event, the Ombudsman has to [weigh] carefully the pros and cons,” he explained.
For his part, Dino de Leon, a lawyer with expertise on criminal law proceedings, said the DOJ has to request the Office of the Solicitor General to begin the forfeiture proceedings once the existence of illegally acquired properties has been established.
“[T]he burden of proof [then] shifts to her kin to prove that said properties were legitimately acquired,” De Leon said in a message to the Inquirer.
Ridon, meanwhile, said the infracomm was ready to resume its investigation, but only after the sunset provision for the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) has kicked in. The body, composed of the House committees on public accounts, public works and good government, suspended its probe after President Marcos created the ICI in September.
At the same time, he rejected claims that Cabral’s death could derail the investigations, saying cases against various personalities were already in motion.
Ridon said Cabral’s most important contribution to the House probe was her testimony confirming the insertion of P51 billion in flood control funds by Davao City Rep. Paolo Duterte between 2019 and 2022.
