MANILA, Philippines — Senators yesterday defended their decision to grant Philippine citizenship to a Chinese national who is linked to offshore gaming “big boss” Duanren Wu.
Nineteen senators last Monday voted to approve the naturalization of Li Duan Wang, who was identified by Sen. Risa Hontiveros as a major “operator of 9 Dynasty junket group.”
Hontiveros said 9 Dynasty Group shared a corporate structure with Rivendell Gaming Corp., which owned a Philippine offshore gaming operator (POGO) scam hub in Pasay City that was raided last August 2023.
According to Hontiveros, Li’s Avia International Club also shared the same building in Newport, Pasay City with Yatai Spa, which has the same name as Yatai International Holding Group, owned by self-confessed Chinese spy She Zhijiang. Yatai means “Asia Pacific.”
She, a wanted gambling tycoon now detained in Thailand, has linked dismissed Bamban, Tarlac mayor Alice Guo to Chinese espionage activities.
Hontiveros said Li is also a business associate of Duanren Wu, the so-called “big boss” of POGOs and a board member of Whirlwind Corp., the firm that leased its land to Lucky South 99, the raided POGO hub in Porac, Pampanga.
She cited Li’s affiliation with the Philippine Jinjiang Yuxi Association, which she said is part of the “United Front” work of the Communist Party of China.
“In his application for naturalization, Li did not even disclose that he is the operator of 9 Dynasty junket group that has shared officers with Rivendell, an illegal POGO scam hub in Pasay. It raises eyebrows. There are red flags in Li’s application for naturalization,” said Hontiveros, the lone senator who voted against Li’s Philippine citizenship.
Those who voted in favor are Senate President Francis Escudero, Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada, majority leader Francis Tolentino, minority leader Koko Pimentel, Senators Sherwin Gatchalian, JV Ejercito, Nancy Binay, Pia Cayetano, Ronald dela Rosa, Bong Go, Loren Legarda, Imee Marcos, Robin Padilla, Ramon Revilla Jr., Raffy Tulfo, Joel Villanueva, Mark Villar, Cynthia Villar, and Juan Miguel Zubiri.
“We respect her vote. But the majority decides on the passage of a bill. That is democracy,” Escudero said at a press briefing on Tuesday.
Gatchalian said he personally went through Li’s application documents and found no evidence linking him to illegal POGO activities. Gatchalian and Hontiveros were active in the Senate investigation on POGO-related crimes.
The Senate justice committee that handled Li’s application asked the National Security Council and National Intelligence Coordinating Agency about Wang and found no criminal record to his name, Gatchalian added.
“I went through his documents twice. I did not see anything non-compliant with his requirements for citizenship. The Senate committee did not find any direct links of Li to POGO,” Gatchalian said at a virtual press briefing yesterday.
Ejercito said he talked to Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission executive director Gilbert Cruz about Li and learned that the Filipino-Chinese businessman has been living in the Philippines for some time and has a Filipino name, Mark Ong.