CEBU CITY – A cause-oriented group has called on government prosecutors to file charges against certain individuals who were implicated in various illegal activities which were discovered during the series of hearings by the quad committee of the House of Representatives.
According to Diskarteng Pinoy, the quad-comm has gathered sufficient evidence that government prosecutors can use to file criminal cases against various personalities and entities.
Ruth D. Polinag, president of Diskarteng Pinoy Cebu City Chapter, said the joint panel can provide certified transcripts of its hearings and copies of the affidavits of resource persons if requested by the Department of Justice (DOJ), Office of the Ombudsman, and the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG).
“There is plenty of evidence, both testimonial and evidentiary, that the quad comm has gathered that government prosecutors can use to file cases against various personalities and entities,” Polinag said in a statement.
Polinag said the OSG can already file civil forfeiture, reversion, escheat, cancellation of birth certificates, deportation, and other criminal and administrative complaints against Chinese citizens Aedy Tai Yang and "Willie Ong," whose real identity is Cai Qimeng.
Polinag said the quad panel has discovered that the two Chinese falsified public documents, particularly their birth certificates, to buy and own lands and operate businesses in the country.
Cai Qimeng is allegedly the owner of Empire 999, which owns the warehouse in Mexico, Pampanga where a P3.6-billion shabu shipment was seized in 2023, while Aedy Tai Yang is an alleged incorporator of Empire 999.
Polinag said the quad comm has pieces of evidence that would warrant the filing of graft, smuggling, and trafficking cases against former Philippine Veterans Investment Development Corp. (Phividec) Administrators Leo Tereso Magno, Franklin Quijano, and Jose Gabrielle La Viña.
The Securities and Exchange Commission documents submitted to the quad panel also mentioned Noe Taojo, president of Golden Sun Cargo. Magno is the chairman of the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA).
The House panels have determined that the former Phividec officials were complicit in the illegal activities of Golden Sun Cargo Examination Services Inc., Sanjia Steel, and Yangtze Rice Mill, all owned by Yang Jian Xin, a Chinese national, whose Filipino name is Antonio Maestrado Lim and Tony Yang. He is the elder brother of Michael Yang, an economic adviser of former President Rodrigo Duterte.
Polinag also said the quad comm has submitted crucial evidence to the PNP, DOJ, and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) which are jointly investigating the assassination of former Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) executive Wesley Barayuga.
“The testimonies made during the hearings of the quad comm are the key evidence that would pin down the masterminds behind the killing of Wesley Barayuga. The role of the joint panel in finally closing the case and getting justice for his family has been very crucial,” Polinag said.
Barayuga, a retired police general, was shot dead in Barangay Highway Hills in Mandaluyong City on July 30, 2020 while aboard his PCSO service vehicle. His driver, Jojo Gunao, was injured in the attack.
Whistleblower Police Lt. Col. Santie Mendoza and dismissed Police Corporal Nelson Mariano have testified that they were hired by former PCSO General Manager Royima Garma through resigned National Police Commission (Napolcom) Commissioner Edilberto Leonardo to carry out the hit on Barayuga on a fake drug operation sting.
Garma and Leonardo, as masterminds, are facing murder and frustrated murder charges for the 2020 incident.
“The quad comm has been a critical partner of our law enforcement agencies and government prosecuting offices in digging up valuable information about crimes that proliferated during the previous administration. The hearings have unearthed pieces of evidence that even the PNP and the DOJ failed to find,” Polinag added.