MANILA, Philippines – The Court of Appeals (CA) has ordered the freezing of former speaker Martin Romualdez’s assets, the Office of the Ombudsman confirmed on Saturday, April 25.

Ombudsman Jesus Crispin “Boying” Remulla answered “yes” to Rappler on Saturday when asked if Romualdez was the one being referred to by the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) as the lawmaker whose assets had been frozen.

On Friday, the AMLC said the CA issued a freeze order against an incumbent legislator, “a business associate, and a corporate entity that were found to have been involved in the flood control project anomalies.”

The council, however, did not provide names in its report.

The AMLC said the appellate court found probable cause to link the said assets to alleged violations of plunder, graft (under Republic Act No. 3019), and direct and indirect bribery.

The order freezes the following assets:

• 25 bank accounts, 10 insurance policies (under Romualdez)
• 27 bank accounts, 10 insurance policies, and one investment account (under the unnamed alleged business associate)
• Two bank accounts, seven property accounts, and one real estate property (under the unnamed corporate entity)

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

The council said that as of April 24, it had already filed 12 petitions for civil forfeiture with the Regional Trial Courts in relation to the flood control corruption.

Romualdez is facing complaints before the Ombudsman for plunder, graft, money laundering, and direct and indirect bribery because he was the “purported mastermind” behind the kickback scheme tied to ghost flood control projects.

The amount in question supposedly reached P56 billion, said the Ombudsman.

On April 22, the anti-graft court Sandiganbayan 7th Division approved the precautionary hold departure order request against Romualdez, therefore barring him from leaving the country.

The former speaker was still in the Philippines as of April 23, Remulla told Rappler. – Rappler.com