Caloocan City 2nd district Rep. Edgar Erice has branded as "illogical" the story of Carlo Hernandez, the driver of former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) undersecretary Maria Catalina Cabral and allegedly the last person to see her alive.

Erice, the senior deputy minority leader, broke down and analyzed Hernandez's story in an interview with House of Representatives reporters.

This, as authorities try to determine whether or not there was foul play in the death of Cabral, whose body was found on Thursday night, Dec. 18 by the roadside in Benguet.

“Well, nakakapagtaka yung sinabi ng driver kasi iniwan niya (Cabral) ng 3 p.m. [nung Huwebes], tapos binalikan niya ng 5 p.m., nag-iisa. Iniwan mo sa gitna ng gubat, sa end ng road, di ba? Parang illogical na kung nagpa-iwan man yung amo mo, siguro lalayuan mo lang ng konti, 15 minutes, babalikan mo na. Pero sabi niya, binalikan niya 5 o'clock after two hours, so wala na,” Erice said.

(Well, what the driver said is puzzling because he left her at 3 p.m. [on Thursday], then came back at 5 p.m., and he was alone. You left her in the middle of the forest, at the end of the road, right? It seems illogical, if your boss really asked to be left behind, maybe you’d just move a little farther away, wait 15 minutes, then return. But he said he came back at 5 o’clock, after two hours, so by then she was gone.)

“So, you know, tingin ko medyo may konting… illogical yung sinasabi ng driver na incident (So you know, I think it's a bit...illogical, what the driver said about the incident)," he noted.

It was not lost to Erice that Cabral was a valuable figure as far as uncovering the truth in the flood control projects corruption scandal was concerned.

And for this reason, the veteran lawmaker said that foul play was possible.

"Marami kasing tatamaan kung magsasalita si Usec. Cabral dahil siya'y nakakaalam nung mga insertions kung sino yung mga proponents. Siya yung nakakaalam (Many would be affected if Usec. Cabral were to speak, since she knew about the insertions and who the proponents were. She was the one who knew),” he added.

“With all her knowledge, hindi malayong possibility na may foul play yun. Kasi nga, illogical na iiwanan mo yung amo mo sa Kennon Road, sa gilid ng bangin for two hours. Tapos babalikan mo after two hours, wala na. Napaka-illogical nung kwento na yun.

(With all her knowledge, it is not a far possibility that there was foul play. Because it is illogical to leave your boss on Kennon Road, at the edge of a ravine, for two hours. Then you return after two hours, and she is gone. That story is highly illogical.)

Erice argued that even if Hernandez just wanted to give Cabral some time alone to think, two hours was simply too long an interval for him to return.

"You can just imagine paano mo iwanan. Maliban lang kung may imi-meet o iniwanan mo kasi may imi-meet na tao. Pero kung wala, ibig sabihin, kung mag-iisip lang siya dun sa tabi, sa gilid ng bundok, eh bakit naman after two hours mo babalikan?” asked the solon.

(You can just imagine how you could leave her. Unless there was someone to meet, or you left her because she was meeting someone. But if not, it means that if she was only going to think there by the mountainside, then why would you come back only after two hours?)

Even the suicide angle doesn't make sense to Erice, largely because of the location.

“Pangalawa, kung yung suicide angle naman, eh bakit dun pa? Ang dami namang madaling paraan. Kung magsu-suicide ka, ba't dun pa sa gilid ng (kalsada sa) Tuba, Benguet? Kaya nga medyo hindi realistic yung mga kwento. It’s more than meets the eye,” he said.

(Second, if it were the suicide angle, then why there? There are a lot of easier ways. If you were going to commit suicide, why do it at the roadside in Tuba, Benguet? That’s why these stories are somewhat unrealistic.)