Now Reading
ICI eyes forfeiture of P5-B assets tied to flood mess
Dark Light

ICI eyes forfeiture of P5-B assets tied to flood mess

The Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI), with the help of other government agencies, will seek the forfeiture of about P5 billion worth of cash and other assets covered by freeze orders issued by the Court of Appeals (CA) upon the request of the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC).

ICI Executive Director Brian Keith Hosaka said at a press briefing on Thursday that the move aims to bring faster “restitution” in the ongoing probe into anomalous infrastructure projects, noting that criminal charges may take time given the need for due process.

“Each agency will be helping each other on how we can recover the assets that are in possession of people who might be responsible for these anomalous flood control projects or infrastructure projects,” Hosaka said.

“You heard what (ICI Chair Andres) Reyes said in the morning, that ‘justice will be served or can be served better if there is restitution,’ meaning public funds will be returned,” he added.

According to Hosaka, the forfeiture will be part of “civil and administrative remedies” and will be filed separately from any possible criminal charges against corrupt officials and individuals.

Freeze orders

“I was discussing this with the Solicitor General [Darlene Berberabe] and she said that there’s going to be an application before the Court of Appeals. As the forfeiture proceedings or application is being heard, these assets will remain frozen,” he explained.

“This is an administrative and civil avenue, which in a way is shorter, because as I said earlier, it will not be going through the more thorough process of judicial proceedings,” Hosaka pointed out.

On Oct. 10, the AMLC reported that it has obtained a sixth freeze order on assets linked to the flood control scandal.

It said it covered 39 bank accounts, four insurance policies, and 59 real estate properties, including residential, commercial, and agricultural assets.

Since the first freeze order was issued by the CA on Sept. 16, AMLC said it has so far frozen 1,671 bank accounts, 58 insurance policies, 163 motor vehicles, 99 real properties, and 12 e-wallet accounts believed to be connected to anomalous government projects.

“The total estimated value of frozen assets has reached P4.67 billion, with the figure expected to rise as additional orders are secured and new leads are uncovered,” AMLC said in the statement.

A freeze order is issued by the CA based on a petition by AMLC and after determination that probable cause exists that any monetary instrument or property is in any way related to an unlawful activity.

It will be effective immediately for a period of 20 days, during which the court will conduct a hearing to determine whether or not to modify or lift the freeze order, or extend its effectivity.

Under the law, the total period of the freeze order issued by the CA will not exceed six months.

Hosaka said the Bureau of Customs (BOC) will also be auctioning off 13 luxury cars that it confiscated from the contractor couple, Pacifico “Curlee” and Cezarah “Sarah” Discaya, in the coming weeks.

Luxury cars auction

“Earlier, Commissioner Ariel Nepomuceno shared to us that the 13 luxury cars with them, they found that there were some missing documents, which now gives them the right to auction these off,” he said.

“So, in a couple of weeks, they are just going through the process of approvals from the DOF (Department of Finance) … so in that case, there will be an immediate recovery,” Hosaka added.

The ICI will also be checking the documents of the luxury cars surrendered by former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) engineer Brice Hernandez, before it can decide if these can be auctioned off as well, he said.

See Also

Need for restitution

On Thursday, the head of the ICI met with officials of 18 government agencies to discuss the recovery of assets illegally gained from the flood control mess.

Reyes highlighted during the meeting that achieving justice is not enough in its investigation of corruption in flood control projects, emphasizing that “restitution” must also be secured.

“All those persons responsible for this may be prosecuted and jailed, but to completely heal our nation, justice is not enough. We need restitution,” the ICI chair said in his opening statement.

Reyes said the law on restitution defines it as “the act of making good or giving the equivalent for any loss, damage, or injury; and indemnification.”

“That is our goal. These assets were purchased using public funds. They belong to the Filipino people. Money that could have been spent on building schools, hospitals, and road projects was instead burned wantonly on useless luxuries and vices,” he noted.

“Let us work together. Let us recover what was stolen. Only then can our nation truly heal,” Reyes told representatives of the agencies.

The representatives of the government agencies assured the ICI that they will cooperate and use their expertise in retrieving the money of the Filipino people lost to corruption in infrastructure projects.

Aside from the AMLC, among the agencies represented at the meeting were the BOC, the Bureau of Internal Revenue, Commission on Audit, Department of Justice, Office of the Solicitor General, Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center, National Bureau of Investigation, DPWH, Land Registration Authority, Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, Land Transportation Office, Presidential Commission on Good Government, Maritime Industry Authority, and the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Have problems with your subscription? Contact us via
Email: plus@inquirer.net, subscription@inquirer.net
Landline: (02) 8896-6000
SMS/Viber: 0908-8966000, 0919-0838000

© 2025 Inquirer Interactive, Inc.
All Rights Reserved.

Scroll To Top