Tony Yang (Speaker’s office)

Ranking congressman branded the quad-committee (quad-comm) hearing Friday, Sept. 27 as the last for "season one", so they wanted to end it with a bang. 

Late night Friday into the marathon 14-hour hearing, Senior Deputy Speaker Aurelio “Dong” Gonzales Jr. and Deputy Speaker David “Jay-jay” Suarez jointly presented a detailed matrix showing the inner workings of a deeply-entrenched criminal syndicate, allegedly led by former president Rodrigo Duterte’s presidential adviser Michael Yang and his associate Allan Lim. 

Bits and pieces of this supposed syndicate had been discussed in the previous six hearings of the House of Representatives' quad-comm, but never before had it been fully unraveled and dissected in front of the public. 

This matrix also served as the culmination of the solons and their researchers' digging through piles of documents and testimonies. It's like discovering a treasure map, only that there's no treasure to be found---just evidence of transnational criminal activity. 

“These Chinese nationals are setting up corporations all over the country, taking advantage of our laws by perpetrating and promoting illegal activities, to the great prejudice of our country and the Filipino people,” said Gonzales, Pampanga's 3rd district congressman. 
 

It started in 2017

Gonzales said the starting point was 2017, or just a year into the previous Duterte administration, which facilitated the boom in Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO). 

Suarez, Quezon's 2nd district representative, said that "A criminal enterprise has penetrated us and has been operating with ‘quiet impunity’ – and out of these operations, eh inuubos at nagkaka-monopoly na po ata to (they've monopolized the) crimes that strike at the very basic fundamental rights – human trafficking, kidnapping, prostitution, murder, love scams, crypto scams at lahat na ng (and all types of) cyberscams." 

Suarez revealed that Yang and Lim used legitimate businesses as fronts for their criminal activities, with DCLA Plaza, a shopping mall in Davao, allegedly serving as a hub for Yang’s drug distribution network. 

He said the duo had "layered" their corporate operations using multiple companies to conceal their illicit activities, while also expanding their criminal operations into the POGO industry. 

“As the [quad-comm] investigations progressed, there were corporations that kept surfacing and familiar names, names that have been tied to controversial investigations," Suarez noted. He said they uncovered “a pattern, a partnership, and an alignment.” 

“Stripped it of its layers, to get to the top and thru it all, we have discovered and identified at least two main actors or players in the issue of illegal drugs and illegal activities associated with POGOs,” Suarez said, referring to Yang and Lim. 

Among these companies is Brickhartz Technology Inc., which has been allegedly involved in several kidnapping cases and is linked to Xionwei Technology Co. Ltd., a POGO operation connected to Lim. 

Brickhartz and Xionwei were linked to the Baofu Compound in Bamban, Tarlac, a notorious facility with connections to dismissed Mayor Alice Guo, where Chinese nationals were arrested for various criminal activities. 

The quad-comm had established links between Yang and Lim and the controversial Lucky South 99, which operates a POGO hub in Porac, that was raided by authorities last June for various illegal activities. The firm is represented by Casandra Ong. 

The mega-panel led by its overall chairman Surigao del Norte 2nd district Rep. Robert Ace Barbers further uncovered Yang and Lim’s links to Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corp., which was implicated in anomalous purchases of health and medical supplies for Covid-19 during the Duterte administration. 

It was also learned that Empire 999 Realty Corporation, tied to Yang, was involved in the discovery of a P3.6-billion shabu shipment in Mexico, Pampanga in 2023. This was among the first red flag incidents that Gonzales sought a House probe on, not knowing that it would lead to something much bigger. 

Suarez highlighted a recurring pattern where Yang used Gerald Cruz, Jayson Uson, and Yugin Zheng, while Lim relied on his wife, Rose Nono Lin, as nominees in corporate structures to conceal ownership. Lin, listed as an incorporator in at least eight companies connected to Yang, played a pivotal role in their expansive operations. 
 

Enter Tony Yang

Suarez said that a significant development in the investigation involved the arrest of Yang’s elder brother, Tony Yang, at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) two weeks ago. 

Tony Yang, also known as Antonio Maestrado Lim, was apprehended as an undesirable alien. He was intercepted at the airport carrying ₱1.4 million in cash and six firearms. 

“Si Tony Yang ang eldest brother among the Yang brothers. Siya daw ang totoong mastermind o architect ng lahat ng operasyon at criminal syndicate ng Yang Brothers dito sa ating bansa,” said Suarez, who noted that another brother of Michael Yang was Hong Jiang Yang. 

(Tony Yang is the eldest bother among the Yang brothers. He is said to be the real mastermind or architect of all the operations and criminal syndicate of the Yang brothers in our country.) 

Tony Yang owns multiple businesses in Cagayan de Oro City, including the Yang Zi Hotel—a former POGO hub—and Philippine Sanjia Steel Corp., which was allegedly involved in rice smuggling and human trafficking. He is also the president of Oro One, Inc., a service provider for Xionwei Technologies, one of Lim’s POGO companies. 

Suarez said that Tony Yang’s businesses are involved in various illegal activities, including drug smuggling and land acquisition schemes using fraudulent documents. 

Tony Yang, speaking through a translator, was present during Friday's hearing. Quad-comm co-chairman Santa Rosa City lone district Rep. Dan Fernandez had him cited for contempt during his interpellation for supposedly lying about the details of his local businesses. 

Suarez warned that the criminal syndicate, composed primarily of Chinese nationals, has extended its reach into the country’s national security and sovereignty. The investigation found out that foreign nationals linked to Yang and Lim were acquiring land by "pretending to be Filipinos" through fake birth certificates and government IDs. 

“This is a serious threat to our national security and to our very sovereignty as a nation,” he said, adding that these lands should only be for Filipinos.
 

Season two

Gonzales said the quad-comm will recommend the filing of criminal, civil, and administrative cases against those involved, as well as introduce legislative reforms to close the loopholes in the legal system. 

“Hindi po dito nagtatapos ang trabaho ng quad-comm. Ang imbestigasyon na ito, na aming binigyan ng panahon at pagod, ay ang simula,” declared Gonzales. 

(The quad-comm's job doesn't end here. This investigation, which we poured time and effort into, is just the start.) 

Among the laws targeted for amendment are the Philippine Adaptation of the Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, the Special Investor’s Resident Visa Program, the Anti-Dummy Law, and the Philippine Passport Act. 

“Sa ngayon, ay na-uncover pa lang po natin ang criminal enterprise. Wala pa po tayo sa tanong na who enabled them to freely and with impunity operate. Mga dayuhan po ang na-identify natin. Hindi po ito makaka-operate kung walang mga Pilipinong tumulong,” Gonzales said. 

(So far, we've only uncovered the criminal enterprise. We've yet to find out who enabled them to freely and with impunity operate. We've only identified foreigners. Without Filipino enablers, they won't be able to operate.)
 
He continued, “Wala pa rin po tayo sa financial links. Kulang pa (We haven't reached the financial links yet. There's stilll work to be done) To completely paralyze them is to cut the financial stream o ang agos ng pera (or the flow of money)." 

“We will end their era," Gonzales vowed. 

Although nothing has been scheduled, the next hearing of the special four-way panel--or the start of "season two"--is expected to take place after the filing of certificates of candidacy (COCs) next month.