Surigao del Norte 2nd district Rep. Robert Ace Barbers (Ellson Quismorio/ MANILABULLETIN)

The national government will initiate forfeiture proceedings in court against some 320 “titled” prime lot acquisitions worth billions of pesos by suspected Chinese drug lord Willie Ong, his Empire 999 real estate firm, and associates.

The House Committee on Dangerous Drugs chaired by Surigao del Norte 2nd district Rep. Robert Ace Barbers drew this comiment from the Land Registration Authority (LRA) and the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) during a recent panel hearing.

It was during this May 22 hearing when it was floated that Ong, et al. were--in all probability-- Chinese nationals masquerading as Filipinos.

Barbers says Ong, who has been summoned several times but failed to appear in the House hearings, is the owner of SEC-registered Empire 999 Realty Corporation and a warehouse in Mexico, Pampanga where 530 kilos of shabu worth P3.6 billion were delivered to in September last year.

Barbers said the LRA and OSG’s move was aimed to prevent Ong and his associates from disposing, selling or transferring their illegally obtained assets to the unsuspecting public.

Ong, who bears the Chinese name of Cai Qimeng, is believed to have fled the country in October 2023 by using his Chinese passport.

The whereabouts of Ong’s Chinese associates identified as Aedi Tai Yang, Jack Tai Yang, Michelle Santos Sy, and Elaine Chua, among others, could not be ascertained by authorities.

“They own 55 percent of Empire 999 Realty Corporation, which is in direct violation of the

constitutional limitation of the 60-40 equity,” Barbers said.

“Since Willie Ong and company are not Filipinos, their Philippine passports must be immediately cancelled by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) while Empire 999 Realty Corporation’s SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) registration be revoked and the corporation dissolved,” added the committee chairman.

Lawyer Salvalente Elizalde, chief of the LRA Legal Division, said during the hearing that the LRA would endorse to the OSG an adverse claim to be filed in court for the forfeiture of Ong and his associates’ properties.

“Kailangang may kaso sa court (There should be a case in court). However, we commit right now that we will monitor the properties,” Elizade stated.

Barbers, for his part, said: “Kailangan natin na maipaalam sa publiko na kwestyonable ang mga ito at mabigyan din ng proteksyon ang sinuman na kanilang pagbebentahan nito."

(We must inform the public that these are questionable so that the potential buyers of these properties would be protected.)

"At dapat malaman din natin kung paano nila binili ang mga properties na ito, gaano kalalaki ang mga ito, binayaran ba nila ang mga ito ng cash, through the banks, o gumamit sila ng (And we also need to know how they bought these properties, how big they are, and the mode of payment like if they used cash, coursed it through a bank, or used) laundered money that are proceeds from their drug business or other illegal transactions."

If Ong and company managed to buy public lands, a reversion proceeding could be initiated by the LRA and OSG.

It is a manner through which the State seeks to revert land to the mass of public domain and is the proper remedy when public land is fraudulently awarded and disposed of in favor of private individuals or corporations.