The Office of the Ombudsman assured that the assets of persons and owners of construction firms charged in the anomalous flood control projects will remain frozen even if the freeze orders issued by the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) expire in six months.

Assistant Ombudsman Mico Clavano on Thursday, March 26, said that the assets will remain frozen as long as there are asset preservation orders in civil forfeiture proceedings on the same cases.

"Naka freeze pa din po ang mga assets nila sa bangko (Their assets are still frozen in banks). I would just like to clarify that," Clavano said during a press briefing.

He said that since the flood control scam is one of the biggest scandals in Philippine history, it is important for the people to truly understand the nuances of the cases.

"Mahalaga po ang AMLC, at magaling ang mga tao sa AMLC. Marami na sila nabibigay na information sa atin, (The AMLC is really important, and the people from AMLC are really good. They have given us so many information)," he also said.

Clavano pointed out that the AMLC is responsible for the freezing of billions of pesos and in the filing of civil forfeiture cases that are now pending in court.

He explained that AMLC’s freeze orders only last for six months. But as long as AMLC continues to file civil forfeiture cases in a timely manner, the assets will continue to be preserved, he said.

He also said: "We hit them where it hurts. At yun ang pera na nakuha nila sa flood control (And that is with the money they got from flood control). We will not forget that, kasi iyon talaga ang mas masakit sa kanila, ang makuha natin ang perang talagang sa atin (because that is what is most painful for them, that we got the money that is truly ours)."

The AMLC has so far frozen assets worth P27.8 billion, owned by close to 900 high-profile personalities and 650 entities involved in the flood-control scam. These assets include 8,000 bank accounts, over 200 real properties, as well as several vehicles and aircrafts.