The House Quad Comm revealed Friday evening a deeply entrenched criminal syndicate, allegedly led by former President Rodrigo Duterte’s presidential adviser Michael Yang and his associate Allan Lim, that has been embedded in a web of criminal activities.
The crimes allegedly ranged from drug trafficking and money laundering to running illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs)—all with the collusion of corrupt government officials.
The revelation emerged during the seventh public hearing of the mega-panel investigating the links between the illegal POGOs, drug trade, land grabbing by some Chinese nationals, and the extrajudicial killings associated with the previous administration’s brutal war on drugs.
Senior Deputy Speaker Aurelio Gonzales, Jr. and Deputy Speaker David Suarez jointly presented a detailed matrix showing how Yang and Lim, alongside their fellow Chinese nationals, masterminded a complex criminal network.
“These Chinese nationals are setting up corporations all over the country, taking advantage of our laws by perpetrating and promoting illegal activities, to the great prejudice of our country and the Filipino people,” said Gonzales, a representative of the 3rd District of Pampanga province.
“It seems we have uncovered something, ” Suarez declared during his part of the presentation on the committee’s initial findings.
“The cast of characters seems connected and consistent. A criminal enterprise has penetrated us and has been operating with ‘quiet impunity’—and out of these operations, it is consuming and becoming a monopoly to crimes that strike at the very basic fundamental rights—human trafficking, kidnapping, prostitution, murder, love scams, crypto scams and all cyber scams.”
Suarez revealed that Yang and Lim used legitimate businesses as fronts for their criminal activities, with DCLA Plaza—a shopping mall in Davao—allegedly serving as a hub for Yang’s drug distribution network.
He said the duo had “layered” their corporate operations using multiple companies to conceal their illicit activities, while also expanding their criminal operations into the POGO industry.
“As the investigations progressed, there were corporations that kept surfacing and familiar names, names that have been tied to controversial investigations,” added Suarez, who represents the 2nd district of Quezon province.
Suarez explained that they conducted an in-depth investigation into the corporations, using open sources, documents from the Securities and Exchange Commission, and records submitted to the panels comprising the Quad Committee. Through this, they uncovered “a pattern, a partnership, and an alignment.”
“When we saw the pattern, we followed these corporations up, stripped it of its layers, to get to the top and thru it all, we have discovered and identified at least two main actors or players in the issue of illegal drugs and illegal activities associated with POGOs,” he said.
Among these companies is Brickhartz Technology, Inc., which has been allegedly involved in several kidnapping cases and is linked to Xionwei Technology Co. Ltd., a POGO operation connected to Lim.
Brickhartz and Xionwei were linked to the Baofu Compound in Bamban, Tarlac, a notorious facility with connections to dismissed Mayor Alice Guo, where Chinese nationals were arrested for various criminal activities.
The Quad Committee also established links between Yang and Lim and the controversial Lucky South 99, which operates a POGO hub in Porac, Pampanga that was raided by authorities for various illegal activities. The firm is represented by Katherine Cassandra Li Ong.
The investigation of the joint panel further uncovered Yang and Lim’s links to Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corp., which was implicated in anomalous purchases of health and medical supplies during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The mega-panel also uncovered that Empire 999 Realty Corporation, tied to Yang, was involved in the discovery of a P3.6-billion shabu shipment in Mexico, Pampanga in 2023.
Suarez highlighted a recurring pattern where Yang used Gerald Cruz, Jayson Uson and Yugin Zheng, while Lim relied on his wife, Rose Nono Lin, as nominees in corporate structures to conceal ownership.
Lin, listed as an incorporator in at least eight companies connected to Yang, played a pivotal role in their expansive operations.
Suarez said that a significant new development in the investigation involved the arrest of Yang’s elder brother, Tony Yang, at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
The eldest Yang, also known as Antonio Maestrado Lim, was apprehended as an undesirable alien. He was intercepted at the airport carrying ₱1.4 million in cash and six firearms.
“Tony Yang is the eldest brother among the Yang brothers. He is said to be the real mastermind or architect of all operations and criminal syndicates of the Yang Brothers in our country,” Suarez declared during the hearing. The third Yang brother was identified as Hong Jiang Yang.
Tony Yang, who owns multiple businesses in Cagayan de Oro City, including the Yang Zi Hotel—a former POGO hub—and Philippine Sanjia Steel Corp., which was allegedly involved in rice smuggling and human trafficking.
He is also the president of Oro One, Inc., a service provider for Xionwei Technologies, one of Lim’s POGO companies.
Suarez said that Tony Yang’s businesses are involved in various illegal activities, including drug smuggling and land acquisition schemes using fraudulent documents.
The lawmaker warned that the criminal syndicate, composed primarily of Chinese nationals, has extended its reach into the country’s national security and sovereignty.
The investigation found that foreign nationals linked to Yang and Lim were acquiring land through fraudulent means, including the use of fake birth certificates and government IDs.
“Hindi lang po ‘yan,” Suarez said. “Nagsimula nang kamkamin, gamit ang iba’t-ibang korporasyon o mga indibidwal, mga banyaga pretending to be Filipinos sa pamamagitan ng pamemeke ng mga birth certificate at iba pang government IDs, ang ating lupain na dapat ay para sa Pilipino lamang.”
“That’s not all,” Suarez said. “They began seizing lands using various corporations or individuals, foreigners pretending to be Filipinos by forging birth certificates and other government IDs, which should be for Filipinos only.”
“This is a serious threat to our national security and to our very sovereignty as a nation,” he pointed out.
Based on its findings, Gonzales said the Quad Committee will recommend the filing of criminal, civil, and administrative cases against those involved, as well as introducing legislative reforms to close the loopholes in the legal system.
“Quad Comm’s work does not end here. This investigation, to which we have given time and effort, is the beginning,” Gonzales said.
