The Frozen Empire: Tracing the Billion-Peso Trail in the Yap Brothers’ Flood Control Scandal

The Philippine political establishment is once again facing an existential crisis of integrity following the unprecedented move by President Bongbong Marcos to freeze the assets of two sitting congressmen, brothers Eric Yap and Edvic Yap, and the companies tied to them. This action, targeting Benguet Representative Eric Yap and ACT-CIS Representative Edvic Yap, along with their firms, Silver Wolves Construction Corporation and Skyard Aviation Corporation, marks a crucial and dramatic turn in the ongoing investigation into the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) corruption schemes, particularly the notorious flood control scandal.

The presidential directive, based on the recommendation of the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC), has resulted in the freezing of 280 bank accounts, 22 insurance policies, three securities accounts, and eight air assets. President Marcos explicitly stated that these FROZEN orders are necessary to prevent the liquidation of assets and ensure that every single peso allegedly stolen from the Filipino people can be recovered and returned.

The scale of the assets seized underscores the seriousness of the allegations. A detailed review conducted by Bilyonaryo News Channel found that seven of the eight air assets are registered under Skyard Aviation, while the eighth is personally owned by Congressman Edvic Yap.

The assets themselves, spanning liquid funds, securities, and tangible property like aircraft, paint a picture of immense, rapidly accumulated wealth. The core issue, however, lies not just in the volume of assets, but in the suspicious timing and source of their accumulation, which began almost immediately after the Yap brothers entered the halls of Congress.

Representative Eric Yap, a new-face congressman representing the ACT-CIS party-list, rose to power remarkably quickly. In 2020, despite being a freshman lawmaker and a party-list representative—a rarity for such a post—he was appointed as the chairperson of the powerful House Committee on Appropriations. This position grants him significant control and influence over the national budget, making it one of the most coveted and controversial committees in the chamber.

His term in this powerful role was not without previous controversy; he had already faced allegations of bid-rigging even before the current scandal erupted. His brother, Edvic Yap, subsequently took office as a representative of ACT-CIS starting in 2022, effectively securing a continued family presence within the legislative body.

The name Eric Yap first became prominently entangled in the flood control probe when Senate witness Orlee Gotesa came forward with an explosive claim. Gotesa alleged that he personally delivered 46 suitcases, each containing P48 million—totaling a mind-boggling P2.2 billion—to the residence of a Zaldy Co in Valverde in December 2024. While Yap vehemently denied receiving any kickbacks and claimed no involvement in the flood control scandal, his subsequent attempts to distance himself from Silver Wolves Construction—the primary contractor under scrutiny for questionable flood control projects in La Union—were quickly scrutinized. He asserted that he had already divested his interests in the firm.

This claim of divestment, however, directly contradicts the findings of the AMLC investigation. According to documents obtained by Bilyonaryo News Channel, Silver Wolves Construction began receiving transactions from the DPWH in 2022, the same year Congressman Edvic Yap assumed his post.

In a stunning correlation, the company’s financial transactions EXPLODED dramatically, ballooning to P16.6 billion by 2025. Of this staggering amount, P3.1 billion was directly sourced from flood control contracts secured by the firm. The AMLC’s investigation conclusively traced all these massive cash inflows directly from the DPWH, contradicting Congressman Eric Yap’s assertion that he had no continuing financial interest in Silver Wolves.

The most damning evidence uncovered by the AMLC revolves around the direct flow of funds. The report reveals that P6.1 billion in fund transfers were recorded moving from Silver Wolves directly into the personal accounts of the two brothers, Eric and Edvic, as well as into the accounts of a certain Mark Anthony Ching, identified as a business partner of the Yaps.

This massive transfer of funds from a company whose revenues are primarily sourced from government contracts—specifically flood control projects—into the personal accounts of the powerful legislators who oversee the national budget constitutes the central pillar of the anti-corruption case against them. The financial paper trail is alarmingly explicit.

Furthermore, the AMLC investigation identified other questionable financial linkages. Fund transfers were recorded between Silver Wolves and Kevin Samidan, and Unimax Steel Structure, from 2021 to 2025. Kevin Samidan is the owner of Unimax and the son of Marjury Samidan, the owner of MJ San, another construction firm that President Marcos had previously highlighted as one of the “topmost favored” DPWH contractors, despite having a minuscule paid-up capital of only P250,000. This connection suggests a broader web of alleged illicit contracts and favored contractors, all seemingly orbiting the Yap brothers’ political and financial influence.

The scrutiny on Congressman Edvic Yap, in particular, intensified with the discovery of direct financial transactions between his personal bank accounts and several controversial contractors starting in 2022. Among these contractors is St.

Timothy Construction, a company associated with the fiercely scrutinized “flood control royalty,” the Sarah and Curly Discaya family. In total, the AMLC identified 161 direct transactions involving Congressman Edvic Yap and various contractors, with the transferred amount exceeding P4.7 billion. These findings establish a direct, frequent, and substantial financial relationship between the legislator and the firms benefiting from the very public works projects that he and his brother, through the Appropriations Committee, would influence.

The AMLC findings present a clear picture that the DPWH funds channeled to Silver Wolves were subsequently distributed to the Yap brothers and other businesses controlled by the Yap family.

This intricate network of money transfers forms the basis for the government’s assertion of a massive corruption scheme. Despite the gravity of the findings and the resulting asset freeze, the Bilyonaryo News Channel attempted to contact the Yap brothers for comment but received no response to their queries.

The unfolding scandal is more than just a matter of financial misappropriation; it strikes at the heart of public trust in the legislative process. It highlights how quickly political power can be allegedly leveraged to secure massive financial gain through government contracts, often at the expense of public safety and necessary infrastructure. The flood control projects in question are vital to protecting communities, yet the alleged corruption surrounding them suggests a cynical disregard for the public good.

The Presidential order to freeze these assets sends a strong message that the current administration is committed to pursuing accountability, regardless of the political standing of the individuals involved. The case is a grim testament to the enduring challenges of C.O.R.R.U.P.T.I.O.N in high office, and the nation now awaits the full legal process to determine the extent of the brothers’ culpability and the final disposition of the allegedly ill-gotten wealth.