The Senate Blue Ribbon Committee on Thursday, September 18 issued a subpoena against former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) undersecretary Catalina Cabral after the latter repeatedly failed to appear in the ongoing investigation into the anomalous flood control projects.

This, after Sen. Rodante Marcoleta asked why Cabral is not present during the hearing.

“I can see that (former) Usec. Catalina Cabral was invited but I don’t see her in this room. Why?” Marcoleta asked during the resumption of the Senate panel’s hearing.

DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon then proceeded to inform the committee that he has accepted Cabral’s courtesy resignation but assured that the panel can still invite her to the hearing not as an official of the agency but as a private citizen.

“I want to inform the body that I officially accepted the courtesy resignation of Undersecretary Cabral two nights ago. And I believe, Mr. Chairman, that I think she wrote a letter. She informed me by message late last night that she had written the committee to inform her of that, to inform the committee of her, of the acceptance of her courtesy resignation and thus I think requested not to attend,” Dizon said.

“But of course, even if she is 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 the DPWH,” he further explained.

Marcoleta, however, insisted that Cabral cannot evade responsibility as a former official of the DPWH just by resigning.

In his privilege speech, Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson mentioned Cabral as the one who texted Senate President Vicente Sotto III asking him what he wanted to insert in the 2026 National Expenditure Program (NEP) after he won during the May 2026 senatorial elections.

Sotto also affirmed the text message sent to him by Cabral.

“I don't think her resignation will shield her from her responsibility. There are personal questions that we need to ask her. More particularly, Mr. Chair, your own expose, I still recall in your last privilege speech, her text message to Senator Sotto is very damning,” Marcoleta said.

“I mean, it is something that we need to properly process. It is something that is probably within the heart of the system of DPWH. So kahit na mag-resign po siya, it will not matter to us. There are personal questions that we need to ask,” he said.

Lacson agreed to Marcoleta’s proposal, who then moved to issue a subpoena against Cabral. Sen. Erwin Tulfo seconded Marcoleta’s motion.

Lacson, chairman of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, approved the motion after no senator objected.

Cabral, in a hearing of the House Committee on Public Works and Highways, confirmed the P51-billion infrastructure projects for the 1st District of Davao City during the last three years of former president Rodrigo Duterte’s term.