PRESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. on Wednesday said more assets linked to the flood control scandal have been frozen, bringing the total so far to around P12 billion.
“This is only the start. More assets will be frozen to return the people’s money to them,” Mr. Marcos said in mixed Filipino and English in a video posted on his Facebook page.
“This is our promise: the money of the people will be given back to the people.”
The Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) said in a separate statement that it has secured two more freeze orders, which brought the total value of all frozen assets linked to the flood control mess to P11.7 billion. This included 3,566 bank accounts, 198 insurance policies, 247 motor vehicles, 178 real properties and 16 e-wallet accounts.
AMLC said the two new freeze orders cover the assets of an incumbent high-ranking official from an independent constitutional body and a former elected government official. It did not name the officials.
“The freeze orders encompass 230 bank accounts, 15 insurance policies, two helicopters and one airplane. The air assets alone are valued at approximately P3.9 billion,” the AMLC said.
While the AMLC did not identify the owner of the air assets, Mr. Marcos said these belong to former Ako Bicol Party-list Rep. Elizaldy S. Co.
The AMLC said assets were also linked to breaches of the Republic Act No. 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act as well as the Malversation of Public Funds and Property under Article 217 of the Revised Penal Code, as amended.
“The issuance of the freeze orders will enable AMLC to pursue a more extensive financial investigation to uncover any possible money laundering scheme linked to the flood control projects,” AMLC Executive Director Matthew M. David said in a statement on Wednesday.
“The public can be assured that the AMLC will continue to pursue all possible legal remedies to ensure that those involved in the misuse of public funds are held accountable,” he added.
At the same time, Mr. Marcos said the government would endorse to the Office of the Ombudsman plunder, graft, bribery and conflict-of-interest charges against eight lawmakers who allegedly own construction firms with government contracts — escalating his administration’s crackdown on the multibillion-peso flood control scandal.
The Independent Commission for Infrastructure and the Department of Public Works and Highways would submit evidence to the Office of the Ombudsman to bolster the charges, he said.
Mr. Marcos had exposed the wide-scale corruption within the bureaucracy in his fourth State of the Nation address in July, where he alleged lawmakers gained kickbacks in public works projects.
BLACKMAILMeanwhile, Mr. Marcos separately accused Mr. Co’s camp of trying to blackmail the government into stopping the cancellation of his passport.
He said the lawyer of the former lawmaker had approached officials with an offer to withhold a planned video unless authorities reversed the move to cancel Mr. Co’s travel document.
“I do not negotiate with criminals,” the President said in mixed English and Filipino. “Even if you release your video of lies to destabilize the government, your passport will still be canceled. You cannot escape justice.”
Mr. Co has posted a series of videos accusing Mr. Marcos and senior officials of graft after the administration launched a sweeping probe into alleged anomalies in flood control contracts.
However, Mr. Co’s legal counsel Ruy Albert S. Rondain denied the President’s accusation, saying it is “completely untrue.”
“I have not spoken with anyone from the government to negotiate the stoppage of the videos for the passport. As I have always maintained, I have no control over the release of the videos,” Mr. Rondain said in a statement. — Chloe Mari A. Hufana and Katherine K. Chan
