With 19 affirmative votes, the Senate approved the measure seeking to grant Philippine citizenship to Chinese national Li Duan Wang.
House Bill No. 8839 was approved on third and final reading and was sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Francis Tolentino.
However, Senate Deputy Minority Leader Risa Hontiveros opposed the bill saying that while she does not judge Li Duan wang as guilty of any crime, she cited there are so many “red flags enough to prevent him from being granted Filipino citizenship so easily.”
In voting no against the bill, Hontiveros said she firmly believe that the government should instead investigate Li Duan Wang—“not pass a law to treat him as one of us.”
According to Hontiveros, records show that Li Duan Wang is a junket operator and partner of Duanren Wu, the alleged big boss of the raided Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) in Porac, Pampanga.
She said Li’s business is in the same building as the business of She Zhijiang, a self-confessed Chinese spy.
The senator also said Li is connected to the Philippine Jinjiang Yuxi Association, which is said to be part of the United Front work of the Communist Party of China.
She also pointed out that in the official documents at the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC), Li lied and presented himself as a Filipino named Mark Co Ong.
“Hindi pa ba tayo natuto sa panloloko ni Guo Hua Ping, alias Alice Guo, o kay Yang Jianxin, alias Tony Yang? Hindi pa ba tayo nadala sa mga abusadong dayuhang nagpanggap na Pilipino para pagkakitaan ang taumbayan at dungisan ang ating mga sistema (Haven't we learned from the fraudulent actions of former Bamban, Tarlac mayor) Guo Hua Ping, alias Alice Guo, or Yang Jianxin, alias Tony Yang? Haven't we learned our lesson after been taken by abusive foreigners pretending to be Filipinos to make money off the people and tarnish our systems)?” Hontiveros lamented during her privilege speech.
“Susugal pa ba tayo muli sa isang taong ikinubli sa Kongreso ang kanyang mga kaduda-dudang kaugnayan (Are we going to gamble again on someone who has hidden his dubious affiliations from Congress)?” she asked.
“For these reasons, Mr. President, I voted no on this measure,” Hontiveros said.