SENATOR Risa Hontiveros announced that the Senate's investigation into Philippine Offshore Gaming Operations (Pogos) will shift this week to Cagayan de Oro and Misamis Oriental, where Tony Yang, elder brother of Michael Yang, holds extensive business interests, including an ₱800 million steel manufacturing plant within a 3,000-hectare government-owned industrial estate.
Hontiveros revealed that the inquiry would explore how Tony Yang, also known as Antonio Maestrado Lim in business circles, operated under the guise of a legitimate businessman, building relationships with local traders, government officials, and police.
Yang, who allegedly runs a Pogo in an exclusive subdivision in Cagayan de Oro, is linked to the controversial Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corporation, which was embroiled in a multi-billion peso scandal over overpriced medical supplies during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Yang is a colorful character. His name also came up during our investigation into Pharmally,” Hontiveros told reporters at the political campaign launch of former Senators Bam Aquino, Kiko Pangilinan, and human rights lawyer Chel Diokno.
Tony Yang, the elder brother of Michael Yang, former Presidential Economic Adviser to Rodrigo Duterte, was arrested at Ninoy Aquino International Airport following his arrival from Cagayan de Oro on September 19.
Hontiveros’s staff obtained photos of Yang with local officials, businesspeople, and police as he presented himself as a legitimate businessman in Cagayan de Oro.
Among those pictured with Yang were Mayor Rolando Uy and PNP Region 10 Director Brigadier General Ricardo Layug, both of whom have denied any business ties with Yang in separate radio interviews.
Senator Hontiveros’s team also secured copies of six gun permits issued to Yang by the PNP Firearms and Explosives Unit in Camp Alagar, Cagayan de Oro.
Hontiveros clarified that no local officials from Cagayan de Oro will be invited to testify regarding their connection to Yang.
Yang, also known as Yang Jian Xin, a Chinese national, was arrested last Thursday as an undesirable alien. His arrest coincided with congressional hearings on allegations that drugs and contraband were moving through the Philippine Sanjia Steel Corporation, which operates a 20-hectare port at the Philippine Veterans Investment Development Corporation in Misamis Oriental.
Sta. Rosa, Laguna Representative Dan Fernandez also claimed that Yang operates a Pogo in Alwana Subdivision, a high-end gated community in Barangay Cugman, Cagayan de Oro.
Cagayan de Oro Councilor Romeo Calizo said he sponsored a resolution in 2022 calling for a police inspection of the facility, but no action was taken.
