The House of Representatives adopted on Wednesday, December 18, the recommendation of the quad committee to charge with illegal drug trading two Chinese businessmen who own the warehouse in Mexico, Pampanga, where P3.6 billion worth of shabu was found hidden in tea bags in September 2023.
“The QuadCom recommends the filing of appropriate charges against…personalities linked to the illegal drug trade, particularly those implicated in the seizure of 360 kilograms of shabu in Mexico, Pampanga – Cai Qimeng a.k.a. Willie Ong, Yang Jiazheng a.k.a. Aedy Tai Yang, Mayor Teddy Tumang and all the incorporators of Empire 999,” said quad committee chairperson Ace Barbers in a plenary speech on Wednesday. The House as a whole adopted the report minutes later.
Aedy Tai Yang and Willie Ong are involved in several Filipino-Chinese community activities in the Philippines, according to Chinese site posts that Rappler has reviewed over the last few months. They’ve been credited with some charitable work, like donating COVID-19 kits, consistent with the philanthropic profile of other suspicious Chinese personalities we have been investigating.
Mexico, Pampanga also signed a “two countries, twin parks” memorandum of understanding (MOU) in 2022 with Zhangzhou Municipal People’s Government in Fujian, China. Yang was present in the signing of the MOU.
Empire 999 was incorporated in 2015 by Ong, Yang, and three others as a leasing company based out of Binondo, according to its incorporation papers. Since it was identified as the owner of the warehouse, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) revoked the company’s registration and disqualified the five incorporators from being director of any company for five years.
In the order of the SEC dated July 6, 2024, Empire 999 was also penalized because as a real estate company, it did not register with other required government agencies. The SEC said the Binondo address was fake — the company did not have an office there.
The names Aedy Tai Yang and Willie Ong may be aliases, indicated by their non-existence in immigration logs, according to Rappler’s informed source at the justice department. Barbers said their Philippine passports have already been canceled. Ong left the country in 2022, while Yang has had no departure record, according to travel records under their Chinese names.
In October, Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin requested the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) to freeze the assets of Empire 999, as well as three other companies where Yang holds director positions, too:
- Sunflare Industrial Supply Corporation
- Yatai Industrial Park Inc
- Mexico 999 Industrial Realty and Development Corporation
Links to Michael Yang
In Mexico 999, which incorporated in 2018 as a real estate development, Aedy Tai Yang’s co-incorporator is Linconn Ong, who was an officer in Pharmally Pharmaceutical, the pandemic contractor flagged for anomalous deals during Duterte’s term.
Pharmally’s financier and guarantor was Michael Yang, the former presidential economic adviser of Rodrigo Duterte until nationality issues were raised against him.
Another company with a link to Michael Yang is Golden Sun 999 Realty and Development Corporation, whose 2023 officers include Aedy Yang, Jason Uson, and Rose Nono Lin. Uson and Lin are Michael Yang’s co-directors in several companies. Lin is married to Lin Weixiong, Pharmally’s financial manager indicted for graft, and who has been linked to the illegal drug trade by the current PDEA (Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency).
“Madami at paulit-ulit na ang koneksiyon na lumilitaw si Michael Yang sa business ng droga, pero nakapagtataka rin na sa gitna ng state policy na war on drugs, where thousands were killed kahit sabi-sabi lang ang basis, wala pa rin nakakagalaw kay Michael Yang. In contrast, naging successful pa ang kanyang mga business,” Antipolo 2nd District Representative Romeo Acop, a former policeman, said in his own report to the quad committee.
(There have been several recurring connections that have surfaced linking Michael Yang to the illegal drug trade, but it’s a mystery why in the middle of a state policy of a war on drugs where thousands were killed on the basis of hearsay, Michael Yang has remained untouchable. In contrast, his businesses even became successful.)
The lawmaker presented the matrix below showing the connections between personalities who had previously been named in past and current congressional investigations.
Last November, Yang’s lawyer Raymond Fortun acknowledged a request for comment we sent in connection with his Dubai property purchases but were told he did not get a reply from his client, despite repeated requests.
Buying lands en masse
According to a list from the Land Registration Authority (LRA) that Rappler obtained, there are 30 parcels of land owned by Empire 999 spread across Meycauayan, Bulacan; San Fernando, Pampanga; and Cabanatuan City. Ong, on the other hand, was linked to 71 parcels of land; and Aedy Yang with 11.
Barbers said these were “massive illegal land acquisitions, involving hundreds of hectares of agricultural lands, in direct violation of our Constitution.”
Under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law, agricultural lands are subject to retention limits. Likewise, the Constitution says that only Filipino citizens and corporations with a minimum 60% Filipino ownership are allowed to own land in the Philippines.
In Mexico, Pampanga, Empire 999 and Ong own two parcels of agricultural lands; Mexico 999 owns 23 parcels of agricultural lands; and Yatai Industrial Park owns 18 parcels of agricultural lands. These are according to lists from the municipal assessors of Mexico.
Land acquisitions have become particularly suspicious to the quad committee because of how properties eventually built on them could be used to conceal criminal activities.
For example, Sta. Rosa, Laguna Representative Dan Fernandez said that Golden Sun Cargo Examination Services Corporation owns property in Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental that’s next to a Customs facility that screens shipments arriving at a nearby port. Fernandez said that once the shipment goes through Customs, it is then examined via X-Ray in Golden Sun. Former Customs chief Nicanor Faeldon confirmed this in a hearing on November 27.
“In fact in Mindanao there are two cases similarly situated — one in Davao, one in Cagayan de Oro. During my time, I vehemently questioned why X-rays were conducted outside Customs property. In Davao, it’s across the street,” said Faeldon.
“Kung ganoon ang sitwasyon natin, talagang makakapasok ang illegal drugs (if that’s our situation, illegal drugs will really enter the country),” said Fernandez.
Golden Sun Cargo Examination Services Corporation is owned by Dennis Uy, said Fernandez. Uy is a Davao tycoon, a friend and campaign donor to Duterte.
Tony Yang, older brother of Michael Yang, also owns a nearby commercial port in Tagoloan that was once flagged for cargo suspected of carrying drugs, but was subsequently cleared. The House of Representatives has recommended further investigation into the Yang brothers.
“It further exposed suspicious ties between local government officials and foreign syndicates, pointing to corruption and systemic exploitation,” said Barbers on Wednesday.
– Rappler.com