Liberal Party (LP) lawmakers filed House Resolution No. 524 on November 27, urging Congress to investigate how the government enforces civil forfeiture laws amid the alleged flood control corruption scheme. They argue that agencies are not fully using existing mechanisms to recover ill-gotten wealth.
Deputy Minority Leader and Mamamayang Liberal party-list representative Leila de Lima led the filing, with support from representatives Edgar Erice, Adrian Michael Amatong, Arlene “Kaka” Bag-ao, Jaime Fresnedi, Cielo Krisel Lagman, and Alfonso Umali Jr.
The resolution directs Congress to examine the implementation of RA 1379 (Unexplained Wealth Law) and RA 9160 (Anti-Money Laundering Act).
The lawmakers aim “to identify possible gaps in procedure and implementation, recommend remedial legislative measures… and ensure accountability in public service.”
They said Filipinos continue to push for justice. “There has been unrelenting demand of our people for accountability for the flood control projects controversy… and to recover the stolen funds and assets from these unscrupulous individuals,” portion of the resolution read.
The LP bloc said available information suggests weak use of enforceable tools. “There seems to be a case of underutilization of civil forfeiture mechanisms under both RA 1379 and RA 9160,” they added.
Under the laws, the State can pursue both conviction-based and non-conviction-based forfeiture. RA 1379 covers unexplained wealth of public officials, while RA 9160 authorizes the freezing and forfeiture of monetary instruments, properties, and other assets linked to unlawful activities.
The lawmakers stressed that the Office of the Solicitor General should already be filing civil forfeiture cases for the Anti-Money Laundering Council.
“If these cases were indeed filed, what their status are… are not mentioned in the news reports,” the group said. They added that the Office of the Ombudsman has not released updates on possible RA 1379 actions.
President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. earlier announced that the AMLC froze P12 billion worth of assets linked to the scheme. These include former congressman Zaldy Co’s P4-billion air assets, 3,566 bank accounts, 198 insurance policies, 247 vehicles, 178 real properties, and 16 e-wallets.
Despite this, the LP bloc said the amount “would appear a pittance compared to the estimated hundreds of billions of pesos lost to organized corruption amid the biggest corruption scandal in the country’s history.”
They said Congress must conduct a full inquiry “to determine the level of implementation” of civil forfeiture laws, identify gaps, and recommend necessary amendments.
HR 524 also directs Congress to review how the OSG, DOJ, AMLC, Ombudsman, and other agencies coordinate when they pursue asset recovery. The lawmakers aim to address enforcement lapses and strengthen the government’s capacity to reclaim unlawfully acquired wealth.
“The people’s trust is at stake here… bukod sa dapat maipakulong ang mga corrupt, dapat maibalik din ang mga ninakaw sa taumbayan at magamit sa mga programa at proyektong talagang may pakinabang,” De Lima said.*
Reymund Titong is a Filipino journalist steadily building his voice in the field of news reporting, driven by a commitment to tell meaningful and relevant stories.
He serves as a correspondent for Rappler, maintains a personal blog on Medium, and is the communications officer of Hope Builders Organization Negros Island.