Former Department of Public Works Undersecretary Catalina Cabral has died following an alleged fall along Kennon Road in Benguet.

She was found at the side of the Bued River, 20 to 30 meters below the highway, after her driver reported her missing.

The police said the driver told them that he and Cabral were traveling along Kennon Road Thursday afternoon when she asked him to stop and leave her by the side of the road.

He left her there and went to a nearby gas station. When he returned about two hours later, he could not find her and searched a hotel where they had been staying, but she was not there.

After failing to locate her, the driver sought help from the police. Authorities found her around 8 p.m., below the highway, and she was later pronounced dead.

Cabral had recently resigned from the Department of Public Works and Highways after being implicated in an alleged kickback scheme involving infrastructure projects. She was reportedly in charge of setting the “allocable” amounts assigned to each district.