Former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Undersecretary Maria Catalina Cabral, who had earlier resigned amid allegations linked to flood control projects, was declared dead after being found unconscious along the Bued River on Kennon Road late Thursday, according to the Cordillera police. Police said Cabral was pronounced dead at 12:02 a.m. Friday by physician Gian Frances Salinas, shortly after first responders retrieved her body from the river around midnight. Cabral’s driver, Ricardio Munos Hernandez, told authorities he was driving her from Baguio City to La Union province when she asked to be dropped off and left alone at around 3 p.m. at Purok Maramal, Sitio Camp 5, Barangay Camp 4 in Tuba, Benguet—a populated section of Kennon Road. Hernandez said he returned at about 5 p.m. but could no longer find Cabral. It remains unclear why her body was brought up to the road only close to midnight. The area where Cabral was found is near a damaged rockshed and rock netting project site that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. inspected in August with local officials, after concerns were raised about the quality of the projects. He then went back to her hotel in Baguio before reporting the incident at the Kennon Road Viewdeck, where a police station is located. A search operation followed, and police later spotted Cabral roughly 30 meters from the riverbank. These sites were among those flagged for alleged anomalies, prompting investigations into senior DPWH officials, including Cabral. Cabral, who handled planning and public-private partnership projects at the DPWH, had denied involvement in alleged multibillion-peso kickbacks. She resigned from her post in September but was summoned earlier this month by the Independent Commission on Infrastructure.