Images of ex-Philippine official before her death misrepresented online
- Published on January 13, 2026 at 09:18
- 2 min read
- By Lucille SODIPE, AFP Philippines
Speculation about the death of a key official implicated in the Philippine flood control project corruption scandal is rife on social media, but posts falsely claiming she was spotted alive in Europe in fact share visuals taken months before she died in December 2025. The images correspond to footage of Catalina Cabral at the Philippine Senate session hall during a hearing in September 2025.
A collage featuring three images of former Department of Public Works and Highways undersecretary Cabral in a room was shared on Facebook on January 3, 2026 (archived link).
Tagalog-language text over the image reads, "Aunties and Uncles, undersecretary Cabral is spotted roaming Europe".
Philippine authorities said Cabral -- a key figure implicated in the flood-control projects corruption scandal -- had died from "blunt traumatic injuries consistent with a fall" after she was found unconscious at the bottom of a cliff in the northern province of Benguet on December 18, 2025 (archived here and here).
President Ferdinand Marcos first spotlighted the widespread fraud in a July national address and has since seen friend and foe alike implicated in the scandal, while some political opponents suggest he was a key beneficiary of the corruption (archived link).
Similar videos of Cabral were shared alongside claims she was seen in Europe on Facebook, as well as on TikTok and Instagram after her death.
Comments on the posts show people appeared to believe the footage shows Cabral alive.
"[She's there under a] different identity, maybe," one wrote.
Another speculated, "That's why Cabral's husband did not want her to undergo a DNA test because that wasn't her."
However, keyword searches on Google found the visuals were taken before Cabral's death.
The screenshots were taken from one video clip posted by radio station DWIZ 822 on Facebook on September 23, 2025 (archived link).
The Tagalog-language caption translates as, "WATCH: Former [Department of Public Works and Highways Undersecretary] Maria Catalina Cabral is already at the Senate for the fifth hearing of the Blue Ribbon Committee on anomalous flood control projects."
Local media outfit Rappler also posted a similar clip of Cabral as she entered the Senate session hall that day (archived link). She can be seen wearing the same clothes as in the false posts.
The hearing was livestreamed on the Senate's official YouTube channel. Cabral can be seen answering a question by a senator at the two-hour and 24-minute mark (archived link).
AFP has debunked more misinformation related to the flood infrastructure scandal here, here and here.
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