Assets of public works execs, flood infra contractors frozen
The Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) on Tuesday received court approval to freeze the bank accounts of several individuals accused of corruption in government flood control projects, aiming to stop the movement of stolen public funds and recover money that may have already been transferred.
As this developed, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is using a recently enacted law to investigate financial accounts allegedly used to siphon taxpayer money intended for flood mitigation projects.
Matthew David, executive director of the AMLC, said the Court of Appeals on Sept. 16 granted a freeze order on 135 bank accounts and 27 insurance policies connected to individuals and companies allegedly involved in anomalous flood control projects.
The decision stemmed from a petition filed by the AMLC in coordination with the Office of the Solicitor General.
The dirty money watchdog was acting on a Sept. 12 letter from Secretary Vince Dizon of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) requesting help with the filing of a petition to freeze the accounts.
The letter contained the names of 20 DPWH officials and six private contractors, including those currently under investigation by the Senate blue ribbon committee for suspected anomalies in flood control projects.
Among those on the list are the so-called “BGC Boys,” who reportedly laundered billions of pesos through the casinos. They are former Bulacan district engineer Henry Alcantara and his assistant Brice Hernandez, construction unit head Jaypee Mendoza and project engineer Arjay Domasig.
More accounts probed
The private contractors on the list were Ma. Roma Angeline Rimando of St. Timothy Construction Corp.; spouses Pacifico “Curlee” and Cezarah “Sarah” Discaya also of St. Timothy Construction; Mark Allan Arevalo, general manager of Wawao Builders; Sally Santos, owner and manager of SYMS Construction Trading, and Robert Imperio, owner and manager of IM Construction Corp.
David said the AMLC’s preliminary findings “point to a possible money laundering scheme involving public funds intended to fund flood control initiatives.”
The accounts will be frozen as soon as the banks receive the court order.
“Following the issuance of the freeze order, the AMLC will still intensify its investigation to determine the full extent of the laundering activities and identify all parties involved in these flood control projects,” he added.
When an account is frozen, activities such as fund transfers, deposits, withdrawals and account closures are prohibited. Banks, in turn, review the accounts and examine past transactions to determine whether they were used for unlawful activities. The results of the evaluation will then be sent to the AMLC.
Should another freeze order be issued to cover additional individuals and companies, David said funds withdrawn before the directive can still be investigated.
Dizon said he expects “to have many more of these requests for asset freeze in the coming weeks and months.”
“We have heard reports of massive withdrawals from various accounts belonging to contractors and their family members,” David said. “Through our process at the AMLC, we can still trace and examine the funds withdrawn by these individuals.”
BSP general counsel Roberto Figueroa said the central bank has launched a separate inquiry into the bank accounts of those tied to the corruption scandal, a drive backed by the recently enacted Anti-Financial Account Scamming Act (Republic Act No. 12010), or Afasa law.
The investigation focuses on money-muling activities or the use of other individuals to hide assets, which Afasa criminalizes.
The BSP acted on an official request filed on Sept. 15 by Dizon.
Substandard projects
The widening corruption scandal has led Dizon to the site of more faulty flood mitigation projects, this time in La Union province.
Dizon on Tuesday flagged a pattern of “substandard” projects after he and Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong inspected flood control projects in Bauang, La Union.
Magalong was named last week as an adviser to the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) created by President Marcos to investigate the anomalies.
After their inspection, Dizon and Magalong said the projects they saw along Bauang River Basin were done so shoddily that they had already crumbled after just several days of rain.
“Clearly, this is not a ‘ghost,’ as you can see there are projects. But based on my observation with Mayor Benjie, this seems so substandard,” Dizon told reporters in an interview.
Information provided by the DPWH showed that the two flood mitigation structures they inspected were worth P89.7 million each and both awarded to Silverwolves Construction Corp.
Both projects were also declared completed on March 16, 2025.
“Obviously it’s not completed; we will validate that. What’s important here is that we’re seeing a pattern of either ‘ghost’ or substandard projects,” Dizon added.
Another “very important pattern we saw is that almost all the projects we visited had no plans. That [should be] the basis, [so] we can’t assess a project without it,” Dizon pointed out.
Magalong said he would bring the matter to the ICI. —WITH A REPORT FROM DIANNE SAMPANG
