Senator Rodante Marcoleta believes that the death of former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) undersecretary Maria Catalina Cabral could have legal implications on the ongoing controversy surrounding flood control projects.

Speaking in an interview on Net 25, Marcoleta said that, from a legal standpoint, the case may be affected due to missing or unavailable information that Cabral could have shared.

“Maraming epekto sa tingin ko kasi nga sa dami ng mga impormasyon na dapat sana’y nailahad niya o naikwento niya, maaaring yung iba ngayon ay hindi na makikita. Maaaring ang tatamaan ng mga impormasyon ay medyo nagsasaya siguro (I think there are many effects because of the amount of information that she should have shared or told—some of it may now be lost. Those affected by the information could perhaps be somewhat happy)," he said.

"Kung tatanungin mo ko kung anong magiging epekto niyan, mayroong nalulungkot talaga, mayroong nagsasaya (If you ask me what the effect of that will be, some are truly saddened, while others are happy),” he said.

The senator emphasized that those responsible for clarifying the matter and identifying the masterminds behind the alleged irregularities in flood control projects may face challenges due to the loss of a potential source of information.

“Kasi yung mga dapat na maibahagi alang-alang doon sa ikalilinaw ng kung sino ba talaga ang nagpasimuno niyan, kagaya ng binabanggit natin dito, palagi nating binabanggit na sana sa lalong madaling panahon, makita natin kung sino ang mastermind (Because the information that should have been shared, for the sake of clarifying who really initiated it—like we keep mentioning here—we always hope that the mastermind will be identified as soon as possible)," he said.

"Ngayon ang isa sa epekto, baka mahirapan kung paano maituturo lahat yun (Now, one of the effects is that it might be difficult to point out or establish all of that),” Marcoleta added.

He also stated that, in general, having multiple sources of information would have been preferable; however, due to what happened, others may be discouraged from coming forward.

Still, Marcoleta noted that in some cases, unforeseen developments could still provide clarity.

“Pero sa kasaysayan naman, kung misan ay may tinatawag na ‘twist of fate.’ Sa ibang pagkakataon, bigla nalang lilitaw naman yung mga ibang…kasi mag-iiwan naman ng bakas lahat eh. Hindi naman iisang tao lang ang nakakaalam sa kanyang opisina (But in history, sometimes there is what they call a ‘twist of fate.’ At other times, others suddenly appear… because everyone leaves a trace. It’s not just one person who knows everything in their office),” he said.