DEPARTMENT of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Vince Dizon said on Thursday, September 18, 2025, that he accepted the resignation of Undersecretary for Planning and Public-Private Partnership Maria Catalina Cabral, who was among those implicated in the anomalous flood control projects.
During the resumption of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee inquiry, Dizon said Cabral submitted to him her courtesy resignation two nights ago.
Dizon made the statement in response to the inquiry of Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III as to why Cabral was not present during the proceeding.
“I think she wrote a letter, she informed me by a message late last night that she had written the committee to inform the committee of the acceptance of her courtesy resignation and thus requested not to attend,” he said.
“But of course, even if she’s now just a private citizen and no longer part of the DPWH, I‘m sure if the committee will require her to attend, she still must attend but now no longer as an official of DPWH but as a private citizen,” he added.
But Senator Rodante Marcoleta, former chairman of the committee, said that Cabral’s resignation is not an excuse for her not to be held accountable and attend the Senate hearing.
The committee approved Marcoleta’s motion to issue a subpoena against Cabral. It was duly seconded by Senator Erwin Tulfo.
Earlier, Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson claimed that Cabral reached out to Sotto’s staff shortly after the May 2025 elections to ask for any insertion request into the proposed 2026 national budget.
Lacson said Sotto declined the offer, saying they advocate transparency and good governance.
Several billions-worth of insertions in the national budget are currently in question amid the ongoing probe into the anomalous flood control projects.
Insertions are budget proposals initiated by members of Congress outside what the President’s budget proposal.
During his fourth State of the Nation Address (Sona), President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said that for the 2026 national budget, he will make sure that the GAA is fully aligned with the National Expenditures Program. (TPM/SunStar Philippines)