The sudden and mysterious death of former DPWH Undersecretary Cathy Cabral last Friday landed like a thunderclap in the middle of an already volatile corruption scandal. Cabral was not a peripheral figure. She was, by multiple accounts, right at the center of the flood control mess. 

In his testimony before investigators, her fellow undersecretary Roberto Bernardo described her as a “main operator” in the kickback system that allegedly thrived in the DPWH since the Duterte years. That alone explains why the reaction to her death was immediate, intense and deeply suspicious.

Within hours, people were asking the unthinkable question. Was it really Cabral who died? The idea that her death might have been staged to evade liability spread fast, not because we Filipinos are addicted to conspiracy theories, but because this scandal has taught us to expect the worst. 

When police later confirmed that it was indeed Cabral and that the initial finding pointed to suicide, the doubts did not disappear. They merely shifted.

Internet sleuths went to work. Why did the family initially refuse an autopsy? Why did it take time before one was finally allowed? What about the driver’s statements, given that he was reportedly one of the last people to see her alive? Each unanswered question fed the sense that something about this whole episode simply did not feel right.

All this underscores a few uncomfortable truths.

First, Cathy Cabral was widely believed to be a crucial witness. Her testimony was expected to connect dots that many powerful people would rather keep separate. Based on what has already surfaced, her knowledge could have implicated politicians from both sides of today’s political divide. Names like former Speaker Martin Romualdez and Representative Paolo Duterte have already been floated in relation to the broader scheme. When someone that central dies so suddenly, suspicions are inevitable.

Second, this episode demolishes any lingering illusion that public interest in the flood control scandal is fading. It has been months since the first revelations broke, yet the reaction to Cabral’s death shows that the people are still watching closely. Politicians hoping that time, exhaustion, and the onset of the Christmas season would make this issue go away are badly mistaken.

Third, and most importantly, it exposes the depth of public distrust in government institutions. 

Whether fair or not, many Filipinos simply do not take official assurances at face value anymore. That means the burden is squarely on the administration to conduct an exhaustive, transparent and credible investigation into Cabral’s death. A cursory report or vague assurances will not do.

The stakes are high. The credibility of the entire anti-corruption effort hinges on how this is handled. Even if it is conclusively proven that Cabral took her own life, that cannot be the end of the story. Investigators must secure and scrutinize every record, document and communication she may have left behind. Death cannot be a barrier to accountability.

And beyond resolving the circumstances of her death, the government must still deliver on its broader promise. We were told to expect arrests before Christmas. We were assured the guilty would be named and charged. Those commitments cannot quietly evaporate now that a key figure is no longer around to testify.

Because if this moment becomes another unresolved mystery, another footnote wrapped in official silence, it will confirm the darkest suspicion of all. That in this country, even when corruption is exposed in broad daylight for all to see, accountability can still die quietly in the night.