EDITORIAL — The silence of the grave

The whereabouts of resigned Ako Bicol party-list congressman Elizaldy Co are unknown. With a court-issued warrant out for his arrest, he is now officially classified as a fugitive from justice.

Former Marine sergeant Raul “Orly” Guteza, who hurled explosive allegations at the Senate implicating Co and resigned speaker Martin Romualdez, has also gone missing.

This week, former public works secretary Manuel Bonoan joined the missing persons club, failing to return to the country as expected on Dec. 17. Bonoan, who is likely to face criminal indictment for the flood control mess, left for the United States on Nov. 11 ostensibly to accompany his wife for an unspecified medical treatment. There is no word on when he might be back.

On Thursday, a former official considered as a central figure in the corruption scandal was found dead in a ravine in Tuba, Benguet. While initially considered a case of suicide, probers are still pursuing possible foul play in the death of former Department of Public Works and Highways undersecretary for planning and programming Maria Catalina Cabral.

With doctorates and master’s degrees, Cabral, 63, had a distinguished record in the traditionally male-dominated profession of civil engineering.

The distinction ended this year, when she was implicated in the trillion-peso corruption scandal involving flood control and other infrastructure projects undertaken by the agency where she had risen through the ranks.

Former DPWH undersecretary for operations Roberto Bernardo had tagged Cabral as the point person in the questionable insertion of “allocables” for lawmakers in the national budget for public works. Cabral reportedly maintained a ledger of those who were given the allocables.

Probers are trying to get hold of her cell phone and computer to aid in the ongoing corruption investigation. Clueless police who responded to the scene of her death had turned over the phone to her relatives.

While the relatives deserve sympathy for this tragedy, they may also see the importance of Cabral’s role in the scandal, and cooperate in the probe even as they mourn, by turning over the gadgets to probers.

The search for truth and accountability in this grand theft of public funds is difficult enough. People are hoping that Cabral did not carry the truth to the grave.