THE LATE Public Works and Highways Undersecretary Catalina Cabral – the alleged gatekeeper for kickbacks for DPWH bosses Mark Villar, Manuel Bonoan and Undersecretary Roberto Bernardo — herself amassed P1.5 billion in banking transactions in 10 years from controlling a publicly-funded flood control program.
A report of the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) said it obtained court approval to freeze the bank and insurance assets held by Cabral – who committed suicide last December – and her children, Cheyenne Stefanie Estamo Cabral and Colleen Gabrielle Estamo Cabral, Bilyonaryo said.
Based on documents obtained by Bilyonaryo.com, the financial transactions of Cabral soared to P1.465 billion – P676.6 million in inflows and P789.26 million – from 2015 to 2025.
The figure represents 697% more than her total transactions of P183.8 million – P86.92 million inflows and P96.867 million in outflows – before she was promoted to Undersecretary.
“Overwhelmingly, the transactions of Usec. Cabral was clearly not commensurate with her known lawful income. The massive spike in her transactions from 2015 to 2025 coincides with her employment as a public official and DPWH Undersecretary and her reported dealings with legislators,” AMLC said.
The AMLC freeze order covered 31 bank accounts held by Cabral and her children spread over Bank of the Philippine Islands, BDO Unibank, Land Bank of the Philippines, Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co., Philippine National Bank, and Security Bank Corp.
It also covered 25 insurance policies and investment accounts with Allianz PNB Life Insurance, FWD Insurance, PNB Capital and Investment, and BPI Wealth Trust.
AMLC’s investigation showed that, as undersecretary, Cabral held Salary Grade 30, equivalent to about P213,000 to P228,000 a month. In her Know Your Client files with PNB and Landbank, she declared a monthly salary of P100,000 to P500,000.
The AMLC described the explosion in Cabral’s bank transactions as “contrary to human experience,” particularly during the height of the alleged flood control anomalies from 2022 to 2025.
During that period, Cabral’s placements in BPI Wealth surged to P110 million, while inter-account transfers rose to P150.273 million.
“These flows of transactions show that the funds of former Usec. Cabral did not originate from routine salary or compensation, as there is an absence of similar activity prior to 2022 and a sudden surge in high-value transactions during the period linked to the flood control anomalies,” the AMLC said, noting that the activity was not consistent with “ordinary personal banking.”
The AMLC also flagged Cabral’s large over-the-counter withdrawals, which jumped from only P3 million between 2008 and 2019 to P45 million from 2020 to 2025, Bilyonaryo added.
Investigators said this could indicate possible money-laundering red flags, especially because the withdrawals often came right after funds were credited into the account.
The AMLC noted that many of the transactions involved fiduciary placements, or investments managed by a bank for a client, usually through its trust or wealth management division.
Instead of remaining in a regular savings account, the money is placed in investment products such as managed funds, time deposits, or trust accounts handled by the bank.
AMLC said Cabral’s money typically moved through a personal BPI account before being transferred to BPI Wealth, BPI Investment Management, and BPI Asset Management.
“This pattern suggests that large amounts of money entered the accounts at once and were then placed into investment products, rather than slowly building up from regular income,” the AMLC said.
AMLC’s case against Cabral drew heavily from the testimony of former DPWH undersecretary Roberto Bernardo, who portrayed her as the central gatekeeper of DPWH funds during the tenures of then secretary, now Senator, Mark Villar, and later Secretary Manuel Bonoan.
Bernardo claimed Cabral was the gatekeeper of the department’s infrastructure budget, including the power to “remove, add, delete or modify insertions of items in the NEP for Infrastructure,” or the National Expenditure Program, the government’s budget blueprint.
He also alleged that approved projects carried a 10% kickback, with half supposedly going to Carlo Aguilar, allegedly for then Secretary Mark Villar, Aguilar’s cousin, while Cabral and Bernardo got 25% each.
Bernardo further claimed he was given P15 billion worth of DPWH projects annually for Bonoan from 2022 to 2025.
Bernardo said Bonoan required a 15% “commitment” from the projects, with 3.75% going to Bernardo and the remaining 11.25% split between Bonoan and Cabral.
He said Cabral separately managed her own reserved allocations with their own set of kickbacks.
“On multiple occasions, I personally delivered and also caused cash to be delivered to Usec. Cabral at her house in Tatalon, Quezon City and other places,” Bernardo said in the testimony he read before the Senate.