Manila: An initial 135 bank accounts and 27 insurance policies of 26 former and active Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) personnel, and private contractors involved in alleged anomalous government flood control projects in Bulacan have been frozen effective Tuesday. Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) Secretariat Executive Director Matthew David, in a briefing at the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) office in Manila, said the Court of Appeals granted earlier in the day the freeze order petition on Monday.
According to Philippines News Agency, the assets subject to the freeze order are linked to persons and entities currently under investigation by the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee for suspected anomalies in government flood control projects. The freeze order is in effect for at least 30 days and the banks are given 24 hours to inform AMLC about the remaining value in the accounts.
The freeze order covers the bank accounts of several individuals as requested by the DPWH to prevent the disposal of assets and to ensure that government efforts to combat corruption and money laundering are not thwarted. Among those affected are Henry Alcantara, former OIC – Assistant Regional Director; Brice Ericson Hernandez, former OIC – District Engineer; and several others associated with different sections of the DPWH and private construction firms.
David stated that the freeze order was made only to prove that these accounts or insurance policies or other properties are related to the unlawful activity. A case for civil forfeiture against these assets, and a separate money laundering case, will be filed involving all those identified by DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon and the group in a money laundering scheme and corruption case.
The Anti-Financial Account Scamming Act will be utilized since the law recognizes as crimes any financial account activities such as deposits and withdrawal of funds involved in disputed transactions, BSP general counsel Roberto Figueroa said during the briefing. The new law allows the inquiry into these accounts without the need for a court order.
During the briefing, Dizon described the development as a milestone in the government’s bid to uncover the anomalies and file cases against the perpetrators. Citing the directive of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., he emphasized that those involved in the anomalies should be jailed, and the money they took must be returned to government coffers. Dizon noted that while these are just initial steps, they are significant in making citizens confident that the process to retrieve the stolen money is underway.