SOLON UNVEILS COMPLEX NETWORK TYING ILLEGAL POGOS TO DRUG OPERATIONS

By Junex Doronio

MANILA — A joint inquiry by the House Committees on Public Order and Safety and on Games and Amusements has unveiled a complex network involving Chinese nationals, including Michael Yang, former presidential adviser to ex-president Rodrigo Roa Duterte, linked to illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) and drug trafficking.

During Wednesday’s hearing, Santa Rosa City Rep. Dan Fernandez presented a detailed matrix linking several Chinese nationals, the most prominent of whom was Yang, to both alleged illegal POGO activities and drug operations.

“It’s not only the criminal activities of POGOs and the corporations established by Chinese nationals, but also drugs are involved,” Fernandez said.

Yang is now the subject of an arrest and detention order from the House for refusing to appear at the hearing on his alleged involvement in a P3.6-billion drug bust in Mexico, Pampanga, last year.

Fernandez’s panel and the Committee on Games and Amusements, chaired by Cavite 6th District Rep. Antonio Ferrer, have been investigating the proliferation of criminal activities  with illegal POGOs.

The lawmaker from Santa Rosa City began his presentation by referencing the extensive investigation initiated last year by the House Committee on Dangerous Drugs, chaired by Surigao del Norte 2nd District Rep. Robert Ace Barbers.

The investigation, launched through House Resolution (HR) No. 1346, focused on the P3.6 billion worth of shabu seized in the municipality of Mexico.

This initial probe led to further inquiries by the Committee on Public Accounts, chaired by Abang Lingkod Party-list Rep. Joseph Stephen Paduano, into properties acquired with the alleged connivance of local government units, implicating former Mexico Mayor Teddy Tumang and Mayor Abundio Punsalan Jr. of San Simon, both in the province of Pampanga.

Tumang and Punsalan could not be reached for comment.

Key figures in the matrix included Aedy Yang, an incorporator of Empire 999 Realty Inc., which purportedly owns the warehouse where the P3.6 billion worth of shabu was seized by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA).

Fernandez disclosed that Aedy—along with Empire 999 co-incorporators Willie Ong and Jack Yang—had their passports revoked.

The matrix further detailed that Aedy is also an incorporator of Golden Sun 999 Realty & Development Corp., alongside Rose Nono Lin, married to Alan Lim. They are also linked to Full Win Group of Companies, chaired by Yang, who figured prominently as the financier of Pharmally.

It can be recalled that Pharmally was involved in a scandal over allegations of overpriced medical supplies it supplied to the government during Duterte’s term for the response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines.

Fernandez noted that Pharmally’s incorporators include Lincoln Uy Ong and Gerald Cruz, the latter being a shareholder of Brickhartz Technologies, a support provider for Xionwei Technologies, a POGO owned by Weixiong Lin, also known as Alan Lim, who was allegedly involved in a 2003 shabu raid in Cavite.

He added that Michael’s brother, Hong Jiang Yang, is an incorporator of Paili State Group Corporation, along with Rose Nono Lin and Hong Ming Yang, believed to be another alias of Michael Yang.

Fernandez also drew attention to the findings of the Anti-Money Laundering Council that controversial Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo, who had 36 accounts, was involved in bank transactions amounting to P29 billion.

He said it was established that Hong Jiang Yang, Michael Yang’s brother, had transactions with Guo totaling P3.3 billion.

However, the origin and destination of these funds remain unclear, Fernandez further noted.

“Come to think of it, P29 billion si Alice Guo pa lang ‘yan at umikot sa kanyang 36 accounts. So what more to the others?” the lawmaker wondered aloud.

(ia/mnm)