RPPe House panels reveal links between illegal POGOs, drug operations

A joint inquiry by the House Committees on Public Order and Safety and on Games and Amusements has revealed a complex network of Chinese nationals involved in 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, including businessman and former presidential adviser Michael Yang, to both alleged illegal POGO activities and drug operations.

Yang, who once served as an adviser to former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, is 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.

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

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 associated with illegal POGOs.

Fernandez 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. 

These investigations revealed that numerous hectares of land were being bought by corporations with incorporators who were Chinese nationals.

Presenting the matrix, Fernandez noted the interwoven criminal activities facilitated by POGOs and various corporations established by Chinese nationals. The matrix illustrated the connections between drug trafficking and these entities.

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). 

According to Fernandez, 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.

Pharmally was involved in a scandal over allegations of overpriced medical supplies it supplied to the government during the term of former President Duterte for the response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines. 

Fernandez said 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.

According to Fernandez, 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 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. The origin and destination of these funds remain unclear, he said.

Fernandez questioned the relationship between these individuals and POGO operations, emphasizing the need to uncover the truth behind these extensive financial movements. 

He highlighted the involvement of other individuals like Wesley Guo and Cassandra Li Ong, whose connections to the Bamban mayor are still under investigation.

"[The] instruction [to us] is to ferret out the truth and find out this linkage of the involvement of drugs," Fernandez stressed. 

He emphasized that the joint efforts of various committee chairpersons, including Acop , Barbers, Paduano, Ferrer, and Manila 6th District Rep. Bienvenido “Benny” Abante Jr. of the Committee on Human Rights, aim to uncover the truth behind the nexus of drugs and POGO operations.

Fernandez concluded his presentation by underscoring the scale of the financial transactions. “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?" (END)