Ben Madilynn
TONY Yang, brother of former President Rodrigo Duterte’s economic adviser Michael Yang, confirmed on Tuesday, September 24, 2024, that he is a Chinese national but admitted to having a birth certificate issued by the Philippine government.
In his first time attending the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations, and Gender Equality’s inquiry into the raided illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (Pogo) hub in Bamban, Yang said he was born in China and came to the Philippines in 1998 or 1999 when he was around 26 years old.
Committee chairperson Senator Risa Hontiveros then questioned Yang’s possession of a Philippine birth certificate where he was identified as Antonio Lim, born on September 4, 1970.
Yang’s birth was only registered in 2004.
He said his grandfather got him his Philippine birth certificate for his convenience in doing business in the country.
In his driver’s license, Yang was also identified as Antonio Lim.
He said he only has a Chinese passport.
Hontiveros expressed dismay as Yang’s case bares the prevailing irregularities in the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), formerly the National Statistics Office.
The PSA is currently conducting investigation over the numerous irregularities in the issuance of birth certificates to foreign nationals, including that of dismissed Bamban, Tarlac mayor Alice Guo and Cassandra Li Ong, who was the authorized representative of the raided illegal Pogo hub in Porac, Pampanga.
Yang said after several months of staying in Manila after his arrival from China, he was sent by his grandfather to Cagayan de Oro where he started his textile business, which later expanded to other businesses.
Hontiveros said 16 businesses registered to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) are currently under Antonio Lim, who is also Yang.
This includes steel, rice, textile and tire businesses mostly in Cagayan de Oro and Davao City.
He denied, however, having direct links to offshore gaming businesses except for one time that he rented out a condominium unit for a Pogo firm named Jiu Shui.
Hontiveros asked Yang about his links to Oro One Corporation to which he was named president.
The firm serves as a service provider of a Pogo linked to Lin Weixion or Alan Lim of the controversial Pharmally Pharmaceuticals Inc., which is involved in the irregularities in the procurement of medical supplies at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.
In response, Yang said he was not sure if it was the same company that used his name to apply for a business permit.
Hontiveros rejected Yang’s insinuation that he was used by the firm as a “dummy.”
“Masyado kang high level para gawin dummy (You are too high level to be made a dummy),” she said.
Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) Undersecretary Gilbert Cruz said they received reports that Yang’s steel company houses his illegal Pogo business with around 2,000 employees.
Cruz said Yang may be the most silent among the Yangs, but he is the thinker, playing a major role in the criminal networks of Pogo in Cagayan de Oro.
“Siya po ang parang nagpapatakbo ng mga businesses ng mga Yangs, pati po ‘yung Pogo business…They tried to establish yung parang kingdom nila (in CDO). Nakikita namin na parang hindi ka puwede magpasok ng business sa area na ‘yun pag di ka dadaan sa kanya,” he said.
(He seems to be running the businesses of the Yangs, including the Pogo business…They tried to establish their kingdom (in CDO). We see that you can’t enter a business in that area if you don’t go through him.)
However, Yang said his steel business currently has around 110 employees in which majority are Chinese since they need their expertise in operating the machines.
Hontiveros expressed belief that there is a connection between Yang, Guo and other personalities linked to Pogo waiting to be unveiled.
Yang was arrested by immigration officials at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 last Thursday, September 19, for being an undesirable alien. (TPM/SunStar Philippines)
