Freeze order issued vs. flood control scandal-linked legislator —AMLC

The Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) has secured a freeze order on the assets of a legislator allegedly involved in the flood control corruption scandal.

In a statement on Friday, the AMLC said the Court of Appeals (CA), on April 23, 2026, issued a freeze order on the properties of a “prominent incumbent legislator, a business associate, and a corporate entity that were found to have been involved in the flood control project anomalies.”

It did not identify the subject legislator, the business associate, and the corporate entity of the freeze order.

The anti-dirty money body said the latest freeze order covers 25 bank accounts and 10 insurance policies “registered under the name of the said legislator.”

Frozen assets also include 27 bank accounts, ten insurance policies, and one investment account “under the name of the legislator's alleged business associate” as well as two bank accounts, seven property accounts, and one real estate property registered “under the name of the corporate entity.”

The AMLC said the CA found probable cause to link their assets to plunder under Republic Act No. 7659, to Direct and Indirect Bribery under the Revised Penal Code, and to violations of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act or RA No. 3019.

"The filing of this Petition for Freeze Order underscores the AMLC's continuous commitment to uphold public accountability and protect the integrity of the Philippine financial system," said AMLC Executive Director Atty. Ronel Buenaventura. 

A freeze order is a provisional remedy that preserves the assets that have a probable connection to any unlawful activity prior to the filing of a forfeiture case. 

To date, the AMLC said it has filed 12 petitions for civil forfeiture before various Regional Trial Courts (RTC) against properties linked with the flood control anomalies. 

The properties are currently preserved through Provisional Asset Preservation Orders issued by the RTCs, which prohibit their transfer, disposal, or movement while the civil forfeiture cases are pending, it said.

The AMLC earlier said the total value of assets frozen in relation to the flood control scandal probe has reached P24.7 billion, consisting of bank accounts, insurance policies, motor vehicles, air assets, real properties, e-wallet accounts, securities accounts, and investment accounts.— AOL, GMA News