EDITORIAL - Criminals’ playground

Thanks to the ongoing Senate probe, Filipinos have become aware of a little known treasure near Metro Manila: the golden beaches of Jomalig Island in Quezon province.

Unfortunately, the island has been tainted by reports that it has been used as a “playground” of shady characters in the country such as Philippine offshore gaming operators, and possibly used as a safe harbor for fleeing fugitives such as Alice Guo and POGO bosses in Bamban, Tarlac where she served as mayor.

The story has also intensified concerns on how easy it is for foreigners to fake Philippine citizenship and engage in a wide range of money-making activities both legit and illegal all over the country.

At the hearing of the Senate panel on women yesterday, a businessman based in Cagayan de Oro known as Tony Yang and Antonio Maestrado Lim admitted that he is a Chinese national born in Fujian named Yang Jianxin, who fraudulently obtained Philippine citizenship to facilitate his operation of various types of businesses. Yang, elder brother of former president Rodrigo Duterte’s economic adviser Michael Yang, used an interpreter for his testimony, claiming that he still could not speak Filipino despite having lived in the country for about 25 years.

Facing the same Senate panel, executive director Gilbert Cruz of the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission said Yang and his family tried to turn Cagayan de Oro into their “kingdom” where they controlled economic activities. Businesses being run by Yang’s family reportedly include a hotel and a rice mill as well as Sanjia Steel, which the PAOCC believes is used as a front for an illegal POGO enterprise.

Michael Yang, a Chinese national who is reportedly abroad and is suspected to be a drug trafficker, is also believed to have brokered the multibillion-peso sweetheart deal awarded by the Duterte administration to the newly incorporated and undercapitalized Pharmally Pharmaceuticals at the height of the COVID pandemic.

Foreigners easily enter the country illegally, and obtain fake citizenship even if they can’t speak the language. They can open and operate lucrative businesses in various sectors, engage in criminal activities including cyberscams, drug trafficking, kidnapping for ransom and torture, and then leave the country easily on yachts and private jets when they feel the heat.

Scrutiny of the POGOs has revealed so many broken systems that need fixing in this country. The fixing must be done ASAP, before the country becomes an even larger playground for criminals both local and foreign.