The Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) called on law enforcement to investigate the sudden death of former DPWH Undersecretary Maria Catalina Cabral on Friday.
The commission wants investigators to determine whether foul play was involved in the incident.
Cabral reportedly fell from the side of Kennon Road in Benguet the day before.
“Should authorities determine one, it is possible that those responsible may also be connected to the anomalous infrastructure projects,” ICI Executive Director Brian Hosaka told reporters.
Hosaka described Cabral, who handled planning and public-private partnerships at DPWH, as “one of the central figures” in the commission’s probe into public works corruption.
“She was no doubt privy to vital information,” Hosaka emphasized.
The ICI chief also recommended that Cabral’s computers, gadgets, and other documents be examined through digital forensics.
Police in the Cordillera declared Cabral dead at 12:02 a.m. after her body was recovered from the Bued River in Tuba, Benguet.
Cabral had asked her driver, Ricardio Munos Hernandez, to let her be alone around 3 p.m. while traveling from Baguio City to La Union.
Her body was found around 8 p.m., roughly 30 meters from the riverbank, after Hernandez reported her missing and conducted a search.