Philippine appeals court freezes more assets linked to flood control scandal

PRESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. said the Court of Appeals has issued more freeze orders covering bank accounts, properties and aircraft linked to the alleged multibillion-peso fraud in government flood control projects, as he pushes to have key suspects jailed before Christmas.

In a video statement on Facebook, Mr. Marcos said the freeze covers assets of Silverwolves Construction Corp. and Sky Yard Aviation Corp., as well as the personal accounts of Benguet Rep. Eric G. Yap, Party-list Rep. Edvic G. Yap and several others under investigation.

More than P16 billion in transactions passed through Silverwolves from 2022 to 2025, mostly tied to Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) flood control contracts, he said. Authorities also froze 280 bank accounts, 22 insurance policies, three securities accounts and eight aircraft linked to Sky Yard Aviation.

Mr. Marcos said the freeze orders prevent potential asset disposal and strengthen efforts to recover public funds. “We need these freeze orders to stop the sale of assets and ensure that every peso suspected of being stolen can be returned to our fellow citizens,” he said in Filipino.

He added that eight DPWH personnel in Davao Occidental have expressed intent to surrender to the National Bureau of Investigation.

On the same day, Cezarah Rowena “Sarah” C. Discaya turned herself in to the National Bureau of Investigation headquarters after Mr. Marcos’ announcement of an impending arrest warrant for her.

“The investigation will continue,” he said. “Accountability will continue. And the government will ensure that public funds are returned to the public.”

A member of Rep. Edvic Yap’s staff said the lawmaker had no comment for now. Benguet Rep. Yap’s chief of staff, Kevin See, did not immediately reply to messages seeking comment.

The Benguet lawmaker, who headed the House of Representatives Appropriations Committee under former President Rodrigo R. Duterte, has denied involvement after his name surfaced in a Senate hearing in September.

Ombudsman Jesus Crispin C. Remulla in October identified him as a “person of interest” in La Union flood control projects that were fully paid but left unfinished. The contracts involved a company he previously owned.

Mr. Remulla also said the party-list congressman and Bulacan Rep. Salvador A. Pleyto received funds via bank transfers from the Discaya couple. Mr. Pleyto earlier denied the allegation.

Authorities are investigating alleged irregularities in public works projects that have expanded to include lawmakers, contractors, and business owners.

To date, the government has frozen P13 billion in assets related to the months-long probe, including 4,679 bank accounts, 283 insurance policies, 255 vehicles, 178 real estate properties, 16 e-wallet accounts and three securities accounts.

The scandal erupted after weeks of heavy flooding caused widespread damage across the country. Mr. Marcos later disclosed the scheme during his state of the nation address in July and created the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) to lead the inquiry.

His public disclosures also triggered the resignation of several senior officials, including his cousin, who stepped down as Speaker, along with former Executive Secretary Lucas P. Bersamin and Budget Secretary Amenah F. Pangandaman.

Senator Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson last week estimated losses from “ghost” or nonexistent flood control projects at P180 billion since 2016.

“If we extrapolate based on earlier findings that more than 600 out of 10,000 projects were ghost, we estimated that 6% or higher of 30,000 projects could mean P180 billion or higher went to ghost projects,” he said in a statement.

The senator noted that the estimate is based on inspections of 10,000 projects, about 600 of which were found to be nonexistent. “Imagine, we likely lost P180 billion to ghost projects, and we have not yet accounted for substandard projects,” he added.

Mr. Lacson said the number of projects reviewed by the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee so far is “minuscule” compared with the total.

The committee is ready to help agencies like the ICI, Department of Justice and Office of the Ombudsman in pursuing charges against those involved if new information emerges, he said. — Chloe Mari A. Hufana