THE Department of Public Works and Highway (DPWH) has submitted to the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) and the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) a list of assets owned by the couple Pacifico and Cezarah Rowena Discaya for possible forfeiture proceedings.
This was disclosed by Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon who said they got the list from the Land Registration Authority, and subsequently turned it over to the ICI and the AMLC.
The P1 billion worth of pieces of property owned by the Discayas were frozen two days after the DPWH submitted the roster to the AMLC, Dizon said.
The AMLC disclosed on Tuesday that the Court of Appeals has issued a freeze order on 836 bank accounts, 12 e-wallets, 24 insurance policies, 81 motor vehicles, and 12 pieces of real estate potentially linked to persons and companies being investigated for alleged corruption in the government’s flood control program.
The brought the estimated total value of frozen assets to P2.9 billion, described as “the most extensive asset freeze since the probe began.”
Dizon declined however, to specify which Discaya assets were frozen due to sensitivity and data privacy issues.
For his part, DPWH Undersecretary Ricardo Bernabe III said the Discaya assets were frozen to prevent disposal through sale which would require “forfeiture proceedings” later on.
“Actually… they can file civil forfeiture proceedings if found that the proceeds used to buy these assets are from unlawful activities, money laundering activities,” Bernabe said.
AMLC executive director Matthew David earlier said they have yet to file “cases for civil forfeiture against these assets, among other assets that we will discover, and also a separate money laundering case involving all those who are involved as identified by Secretary Vince… in the money laundering scheme and corruption cases.”
The AMLC and the ICI have forged an agreement that would allow for sharing of information and recovery of assets linked to the flood control anomalies.
