By Junex Doronio
MANILA — In a move to safeguard national security and prevent foreign exploitation, the House Quad Committee on Monday (October 21, 2024) submitted crucial documents to the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG), urging legal action against Chinese nationals accused of fraudulently obtaining Filipino citizenship to acquire land and operate businesses illegally in the Philippines.
The chairpersons of the House Committees on Dangerous Drugs, Public Order and Safety, Human Rights, and Public Accounts—Reps. Robert Ace Barbers, Dan Fernandez, Bienvenido “Benny” Abante Jr., and Joseph Stephen Paduano—called on the OSG to expedite its review and initiate civil forfeiture proceedings in coordination with other government agencies.
At the heart of this case is Aedy Tai Yang, a Chinese national suspected of falsifying documents to gain Filipino citizenship, which he allegedly used to circumvent foreign ownership laws, allowing him to acquire land and establish businesses illegally.
Among the submitted documents is Yang’s Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA)-issued birth certificate from 2004, despite his claim of being born in 1983. Records from the Municipal Civil Registry of San Antonio, Nueva Ecija, show that his birth documents were destroyed in a fire, raising questions about the legitimacy of his citizenship claim.
Additional evidence includes PSA certifications of Yang’s marriage, tax declarations for properties in his name, and corporate records linked to him, such as those from Empire 999 Realty Corporation and Sunflare Industrial Supply Corp.
These companies are connected to suspicious land acquisitions, with Land Registration Authority (LRA) records revealing properties owned by Empire 999’s incorporators.
Empire 999 also owned the warehouse in Mexico, Pampanga, where a shabu shipment worth P3.6 billion was seized in 2023.
The House megapanel presented documents showing questionable land deals between Yang and the local government of Mexico, Pampanga, supported by Memorandums of Agreement, Deeds of Sale, and municipal resolutions that bypassed legal processes.
The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) confirmed that some of the lands sold by Yang did not undergo the required conversion process, further underscoring the illegal nature of these transactions.
In its letter to Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra, the Quad Committee stressed the national security risks posed by these activities and urged swift action.
“These actions are blatant violations of our laws and demand immediate executive intervention,” the Quad Committee stated.
Assistant Solicitor Generals Hermes L. Ocampo, Gilbert U. Medrano, and Senior State Solicitor Neil Lorenzo, who attended the press conference, received the documents from the Quad Committee leaders.
House Senior Deputy Speaker Aurelio “Dong” Gonzales Jr. of Pampanga, House Deputy Majority Leader David “Jay-jay” Suarez of Quezon, Quad Committee Vice Chairman Romeo Acop of Antipolo City, 1-Rider Partylist Rep. Rodge Gutierrez, La Union Rep. Paolo Ortega V, and Zambales Rep. Jay Khonghun also participated in the ceremony.
The joint committee called on the OSG to collaborate with agencies such as the Land Registration Authority (LRA), Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), and Department of Justice (DOJ) to ensure a comprehensive investigation and legal enforcement.
The committee warned that failure to address these violations could have serious consequences for national security and the economy.
“We trust your office will prioritize this matter and act swiftly to protect the integrity of our nation’s legal and economic systems,” the Quad Committee said.
This document handover is part of the Quad Committee’s larger investigation into illegal POGOs, the drug trade, land grabbing by Chinese nationals, and extrajudicial killings linked to the Duterte administration’s war on drugs.
Yang has emerged as a central figure in these investigations, representing what the committee sees as a broader issue of foreign nationals exploiting legal loopholes to control land and businesses in the Philippines.
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