Cebu group urges quad panel: Press charges against personalities

CEBU, Philippines — The quad committee of the House of Representatives has gathered sufficient evidence for government prosecutors to file criminal cases against various personalities and entities.

Ruth D. Polinag, president of DISKARTENG PINOY Cebu City Chapter, stated that the joint panel can provide certified transcripts of its hearings and copies of affidavits from resource persons if requested by the Department of Justice (DOJ), Office of the Ombudsman, and the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG).

“There is plenty of evidence, both testimonial and documentary, that the quad committee has gathered, which government prosecutors can use to file cases against various personalities and entities,” Polinag said.

Polinag mentioned that the Office of the Solicitor General can already file civil forfeiture, reversion, escheat, cancellation of birth certificates, deportation, and other criminal and administrative complaints against Chinese citizens Aedy Tai Yang and "Willie Ong," whose real identity is Cai Qimeng.

The quad panel discovered that the two Chinese nationals falsified public documents, particularly their birth certificates, to buy and own lands and operate businesses in the country. Cai Qimeng owns Empire 999, which operates the warehouse in Mexico, Pampanga, where a P3.6 billion shabu shipment was seized in 2023. Aedy Tai Yang is an incorporator of Empire 999.

Polinag added that the quad committee has evidence warranting the filing of graft, smuggling, and trafficking cases against former Philippine Veterans Investment Development Corporation (Phividec) administrators Leo Tereso Magno, Franklin Quijano, and Jose Gabrielle La Viña. SEC documents submitted to the quad panel also mentioned Noe Taojo, president of Golden Sun Cargo.

Magno is currently the secretary of the Office of the Presidential Assistant for Eastern Mindanao (Opamine) and chairman of the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA).

The House panels determined that the former Phividec officials were complicit in the illegal activities of Golden Sun Cargo Examination Services Inc., Sanjia Steel, and Yangtze Rice Mill, all owned by Yang Jian Xin, a Chinese national whose Filipino name is Antonio Maestrado Lim and Tony Yang. He is the elder brother of Michael Yang, an economic adviser to former President Rodrigo Duterte.

Polinag also said the quad committee has submitted crucial evidence to the PNP, DOJ, and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), which are jointly investigating the assassination of former Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) executive Wesley Barayuga.

“The testimonies made during the quad committee hearings are key evidence that would pin down the masterminds behind the killing of Wesley Barayuga. The role of the joint panel in finally closing the case and getting justice for his family has been very crucial,” Polinag said.

Barayuga, a retired police general, was shot dead in Barangay Highway Hills in Mandaluyong City on July 30, 2020, while aboard his PCSO service vehicle. His driver, Jojo Gunao, was injured in the attack.

Whistleblower Lt. Col. Santie Mendoza and dismissed police corporal Nelson Mariano testified that they were hired by former PCSO general manager Royima Garma through resigned National Police Commission (Napolcom) commissioner Edilberto Leonardo to carry out the hit on Barayuga in a fake drug operation sting.

Garma and Leonardo, as masterminds, are facing murder and frustrated murder charges for the 2020 incident.

“The quad committee has been a critical partner of our law enforcement agencies and government prosecuting offices in uncovering valuable information about crimes that proliferated during the previous administration. The hearings have unearthed pieces of evidence that even the PNP and the DOJ failed to find,” Polinag said. — (FREEMAN)