MANILA, Philippines — The wife of an alleged Chinese drug lord testified before the House Quad Committee, saying her husband worked for Michael Yang, who is suspected of connections to the illegal drug trade.
At the mega panel’s 13th hearing on Thursday, December 12, Allan Sy’s wife Jed Pilapil Sy said she didn’t know anything about her husband dealing with illegal drugs.
It was only the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) that named Allan as a drug lord, she added.
When the PDEA interrogated her about Allan’s businesses, she said that she only knew of a candy and chocolate distribution business; a property in Dumoy, Davao City; a rented warehouse; and a foam and metal furniture manufacturing business in Bunawan, Davao City.
Where Yang comes in. She mentioned they also had a "display area" for their foam furniture inside the DCLA Plaza shopping mall, which she knew to be owned by "Hong Ming Yang," the real name of former President Rodrigo Duterte's economic adviser Michael Yang.
“Ang DCLA Plaza na pagmamay-ari ni Hong Ming ay naging display area namin ng foam (The DCLA Plaza, owned by Hong Ming, became our display area for foam),” she said.
Jed said her husband was friends with Yang, whom he referred to as “Hong Ming,” which is why she was unfamiliar with the name Michael Yang.
However, when shown a photo of Michael Yang, she confirmed to the committee that the person was the same "Hong Ming" she knew.
She also explained she and her husband rarely talked about his work, except when he needed her signature for property purchases.
Connection with Dumoy raid. This is why the raided clandestine shabu or crystal meth laboratory in Dumoy was a property she recognized — not for its use in illegal activities but because it was registered under her name.
In her affidavit, Jed said the property was rented to an individual named Alex Kim. According to her, Allan mentioned that Kim planned to open a business.
However, she could not confirm his nationality, saying she heard him speak several languages fluently.
“Actually, Your Honor, ‘yung Dumoy property is nakapangalan po sa akin. … ‘Yung nirentahan ni Alex Kim nakapangalan ‘yun sa akin. Mayroon kaming contract of lease,” Jed told lawmakers.
(Actually, Your Honor, the Dumoy property is under my name. ... The one rented by Alex Kim is under my name. We have a contract of lease.)
In 2004, while Duterte was serving as Davao City mayor, the PDEA raided the Dumoy property, reportedly having seized 100 kilos of high-grade crystal meth valued at P300 million.
Before the raid. On New Year’s Eve in 2004, as anti-narcotics agents raided the drug laboratory, Jed recounted that Duterte visited her home searching for Allan. She said Duterte expressed anger toward her husband but spared the details.
Instead, he ordered her to stay at home and assigned security personnel to her without explaining. Duterte left and never came back, she said.
Hours later, Jed learned from a friend and the news that the Dumoy property, owned by her and her husband, had been raided for illegal drugs.
The Dumoy property was the last place she knew where her husband was. To this day, she does not know what truly happened to him.
After the raid. On New Year's Day in 2005, PDEA questioned Jed about Allan's businesses. She shared what she knew, none of which involved producing or distributing crystal meth.
Three days later, PDEA asked her to identify where her husband conducted his operations, but she honestly had no knowledge of it.
She said she was later surprised to discover that her responses during the interrogation had been "twisted" or "fabricated" to create the narrative that she was aware of Allan’s alleged illegal drug activities.
One example she cited was when she told the PDEA that she had bought Venetian blinds on her husband’s orders, but she said this statement was altered to suggest that she had dropped boxes of chemicals at the Dumoy property.
These statements led to a case where the court convicted her, her brother Jong Pilapil and others deemed involved in the Dumoy shabu laboratory in 2005.
Jed claimed that former PDEA Director Wilkins Villanueva, during his tenure as the regional head for northern Mindanao, was among those she believes altered her statements, though he denied the accusation
Villanueva's contempt order. The former PDEA chief, appointed by Duterte in 2020, is also being accused by his former colleague police colonel Eduardo Acierto of protecting Yang and other “big” names allegedly linked to illegal drugs.
Villanueva denied all allegations, even Jed’s statement that she was arrested without a proper warrant. She said she was also just asked to sign a waiver by her lawyer for “safekeeping.”
“Actually, napilitan ako pumirma ako ng waiver para hindi sila makasuhan ng PDEA ng illegal detention,” Jed said.
(Actually, I was forced to sign a waiver so that the PDEA could not charge them with illegal detention.)
He was cited in contempt for “lying” and will be detained as a penalty starting January 13, 2025, when Congress resumes its session.