MANILA, Philippines — The elder brother of former presidential economic adviser Michael Yang was arrested at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 in Pasay City on Thursday night.
Joint teams from the Philippine Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) and Bureau of Immigration (BI) apprehended Yang Jianxin, also known as Antonio Lim and Tony Yang. He was collared on the basis of a mission order as an undesirable alien after he arrived on a Cebu Pacific flight from Cagayan de Oro City.
Tony is the elder brother of Michael, also known as Hong Ming Yang.
PAOCC executive director Undersecretary Gilbert Cruz said Tony was carrying a cash of P1.4 million and other foreign currencies.
Tony’s Chinese passport was found in his possession, which Cruz said is an indication that he was planning to leave the country.
“Every time he goes out, he brings his Chinese passport. I think he plans to leave,” Cruz said in an interview over dzBB.
The BI said the elder Yang is facing a deportation case for undesirability and misrepresentation for allegedly misrepresenting himself as a Filipino and falsifying information on the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) certification of Phil Sanjia Corp., a steel manufacturing company which he owns.
Tony’s employees have also filed complaints for his non-remittance of their contributions with the Social Security System, Pag-IBIG Fund and Philippine Health Insurance Corp.
While Michael was prominent during the administration of former president Rodrigo Duterte, Cruz described Tony as the “silent one” although his signature is in the documents related to their businesses which are under investigation.
BI officer-in-charge Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado clarified that if found to be guilty, Tony will face deportation and blacklisting. However, deportation will only commence upon the resolution of all pending cases in the Philippines.
Tony was turned over to the custody of the PAOCC, which will conduct an investigation on the complaints they received.
Meanwhile, the House’s quad committee will invite Tony to shed light on his involvement in Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs) and other criminal activities.
At a hearing of the committee Thursday night, panel co-chair and Sta. Rosa, Laguna Rep. Dan Fernandez ordered the committee secretariat to invite Tony to the committee’s hearing next week.
Michael, Tony and another brother, Hongjiang Yang, are being investigated by the quad comm for their alleged links to illegal POGO, illegal drugs, human trafficking and money laundering.
Fernandez noted Tony’s violation is in accordance with the immigration law since in the corporation papers that he filed with the SEC, he uses the Filipino name “Antonio Lim.”
According to committee co-chair and Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers, they believe that the Yang brothers also operate legitimate businesses to cover up their illegal activities.
“They buy land and they build POGOs. That’s where they launder the proceeds from their illegal activities,” he added. — Rudy Santos, Sheila Crisostomo