Digong’s deadly love for China

I have learned to hate all traitors, and there is no disease that I spit on more than treachery.

— Ancient Greek tragedian Aeschylus

ON September 27, the House Quad Committee led by its lead chair Surigao del Norte District II representative Robert ‘Ace’ Barbers released a matrix outlining the alleged interconnectivity of operations of various illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) hubs in the Philippines, including their role in the illicit drug trade proliferating across country.

The Quad Comm’s revelation also touched on private corporations as well as individuals who are said to be responsible for the involvement of these POGO hubs in various criminal activities that include, human trafficking, kidnaping, abuse and even cyber pornography.

Revealed were at least two major players who made all of these crimes possible; namely Michael Yang, alias Hongming Yang, who was the economic adviser of former president Rodrigo Roa Duterte (PRRD), and Allan Lim, alias Weixiong Lin.

Back in the early 2000s, Michael Yang, also known as the ‘Dragon’ in POGO circles, managed methamphetamine laboratories in several places in Mindanao and was responsible in importing, shipping and distributing various drug-making paraphernalia in the Philippines. He was also implicated as the financier in the Pharmally Corporation scandal, where the said pharmaceutical company was awarded several overpriced medical supply and assistance deals during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. The deals were facilitated through PRRD and was estimated to be worth no less than ₱10 billion. Pharmally got the deals despite failing in the bidding process conducted for them.

Several government officials who approved the questionable Pharmally deal, all worked under incumbent senator Christopher Lawrence ‘Bong’ Go, who was then special assistant to PRRD. Although Go previously denied asserting any influence on the Pharmally deal, his close association with PRRD tells otherwise, with the latter having a substantial payoff from the overpriced medical products.

On the other hand, Lim has reportedly been involved in the operation of illegal drug labs in Davao City while PRRD was the city’s mayor. Beside this, he also one of the early operators of POGOs in the country, which Allan Lim founded back in 2016.

Yang and Lim are said to be partners in the illegal drug trade in the Philippines. Michael Yang was able to grow his empire in Davao City, especially during the time when Rodrigo Duterte was ruling the city as mayor. The various corporations incorporated by Yang were used as fronts to deal drugs within the country through various illegal shipments Drug operations were likewise done in the properties also owned by Yang.

Other people linked to Yang and Lim were also able to set up their own crime syndicates in the other parts of the archipelago. These associates include Tony Yang, the brother of Michael Yang, dismissed Bamban, Tarlac mayor Alice Guo and Katherine Cassandra Ong, who owns Whirlwind Corporation that operates the POGO hub in Porac, Pampanga.

Tony Yang is tagged as the illegal drugs and illegal POGO kingpin in Cagayan de Oro who owns Sanjia Steel Company that is implicated in various crimes, including drug and rice smuggling and kidnapping activities.

Sanjia Steel is operating out of the Philippine Veterans Investment Development Corporation (Phividec) industrial compound, an area owned by the government. This was made possible by a contract signed by Sanjia and Phividec in 2018 when Rodrigo Duterte was still president.

Alice Guo and Cassandra Ong also has connections with the Yang and Lim syndicate. The Bamban, Tarlac illegal POGO hub owned by Alice Guo had various money transactions with Tony Yang amounting to ₱3.3 billion, which were proceeds from investment scams.

The Quad Comm also drew parallels on how the Bamban and Porac POGOs owned by Cassandra Ong operated. This included the mass acquisition of lands by questionable corporations and constructing prison-like facilities to house illegal operations including kidnapping, torture, scams and drug trading.

At the heart of these atrocities is former President Duterte and his love affair with China. This is the Duterte legacy that the former president should be known for. He is the architect of how a sitting president sold his country to questionable foreign individuals, allowing them to use our country’s resources to do their dirty work.

These are crimes were unleashed by China and welcomed by Digong. The Yang brothers and Allan Lim were able to establish their own Chinese syndicates in various regions of the country, extending their influence through the Philippines through the aid of China’s lapdog (PRRD).

Duterte’s love for China and his China-first policy made all of these possible. Chinese nationals were able to seize our lands, establish seemingly legitimate corporations in the Philippines, and fill the streets with drugs while spreading murderous crimes and abuse since Duterte allowed it.

This is the fruit of Duterte’s love affair with China, which has been haunting our society for a long time. When Duterte sold our country to the Chinese, he didn’t think of what they would do to our nation. He only cared about himself and in filling his own pockets with more China money. Sadly, it is the Filipino people who now suffer—all because Duterte didn’t really care about the people he served.

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