Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers on Tuesday urged the government, particularly its intelligence and law enforcement agencies, to verify reports and stop unscrupulous Chinese nationals who are allegedly engaged in a “creeping invasion of the Philippines” by buying land and property with the use of illegal drug money.
Barbers, chairman of the House Committee on Dangerous Drugs, raised the warning after the panel, during one of its hearings, was informed that the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, the National Bureau of Investigation and the Philippine National Police were all facing a blank wall in establishing the identity of a Filipino-Chinese drug lord.
A man identified as Willy Ong is believed to be behind the shipment of 560 kilos of shabu worth P3.6-billion to Mexico, Pampanga, in September.
Barbers said Ong, with his company registered at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as Empire 999, has managed to acquire and operate a gasoline station and bought more than four hectares of land in Mexico town, allegedly with the use of Filipino dummies.
The 1987 Constitution prohibits foreigners from owning land in the Philippines.
“Ong, based on documents we have on hand, has a UMID ID Card and a drivers’ license issued by the Land Transportation Office, and used an address in Nueva Ecija. But the NBI and the PNP, despite weeks of search, could not locate him at his given address,” Barbers said.
The Unified Multi-purpose ID (UMID) card is a government-issued identification document in the Philippines. It’s a single ID card consolidating a person’s information from four government services, which contains a unique ID number, biometric data, and personal details.
“We have been receiving reports that it is not only in Pampanga where a buying spree of land and properties by other Chinese nationals like Willy Ong who are allegedly using fake credentials, have secured government-issued IDs, and registered their businesses with the SEC, Department of Trade and Industry and local government units,” Barbers said.
Barbers added that the Pampanga incident is not an isolated one since similar things have happened or are happening in Palawan, Bulacan, Zambales and Davao.
“We might wake up one day to find Chinese nationals owning many places in our country,” he added.
The House Dangerous Drugs panel is currently investigating, in aid of legislation, the seizure of P3.6-billion shabu shipment in Pampanga, which came from Thailand.
The shipment passed through the Subic Free Port, was consigned and supposed to be delivered to a nonexistent name and place in Binondo, Manila, but was re-routed to a warehouse owned by Willy Ong in Mexico town.
Former Mexico town Mayor Teddy Tumang, who had been cited in contempt and detained at the House detention facility, and some of his subordinates are currently the subject of scrutiny by members of the
House Dangerous Drugs panel for their allegedly complicity in the illegal activities of Willy Ong.
In a follow-up hearing next month, the panel has summoned officials from the SEC, the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC), and the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) to determine what Ong’s Empire 999 business firm have been engaged in, the real identity of his business partners, the taxes they paid to the local and national government, and where they sourced their investment money.
“I just hope that Mr. Ong’s businesses are all legit. And he should come out in the open to clear his name. Our panel would give him all the chance to do so. If he won’t, then we and the public may come up with various negative presumptions and conclusions about his business activities,” Barbers said.
Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers on Tuesday urged the government, particularly its intelligence and law enforcement agencies, to verify reports and stop unscrupulous Chinese nationals who are allegedly engaged in a “creeping invasion of the Philippines” by buying land and property with the use of illegal drug money.
Barbers, chairman of the House Committee on Dangerous Drugs, raised the warning after the panel, during one of its hearings, was informed that the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, the National Bureau of Investigation and the Philippine National Police were all facing a blank wall in establishing the identity of a Filipino-Chinese drug lord.
A man identified as Willy Ong is believed to be behind the shipment of 560 kilos of shabu worth P3.6-billion to Mexico, Pampanga, in September.
Barbers said Ong, with his company registered at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as Empire 999, has managed to acquire and operate a gasoline station and bought more than four hectares of land in Mexico town, allegedly with the use of Filipino dummies.
The 1987 Constitution prohibits foreigners from owning land in the Philippines.
“Ong, based on documents we have on hand, has a UMID ID Card and a drivers’ license issued by the Land Transportation Office, and used an address in Nueva Ecija. But the NBI and the PNP, despite weeks of search, could not locate him at his given address,” Barbers said.
The Unified Multi-purpose ID (UMID) card is a government-issued identification document in the Philippines. It’s a single ID card consolidating a person’s information from four government services, which contains a unique ID number, biometric data, and personal details.
“We have been receiving reports that it is not only in Pampanga where a buying spree of land and properties by other Chinese nationals like Willy Ong who are allegedly using fake credentials, have secured government-issued IDs, and registered their businesses with the SEC, Department of Trade and Industry and local government units,” Barbers said.
Barbers added that the Pampanga incident is not an isolated one since similar things have happened or are happening in Palawan, Bulacan, Zambales and Davao.
“We might wake up one day to find Chinese nationals owning many places in our country,” he added.
The House Dangerous Drugs panel is currently investigating, in aid of legislation, the seizure of P3.6-billion shabu shipment in Pampanga, which came from Thailand.
The shipment passed through the Subic Free Port, was consigned and supposed to be delivered to a nonexistent name and place in Binondo, Manila, but was re-routed to a warehouse owned by Willy Ong in Mexico town.
Former Mexico town Mayor Teddy Tumang, who had been cited in contempt and detained at the House detention facility, and some of his subordinates are currently the subject of scrutiny by members of the
House Dangerous Drugs panel for their allegedly complicity in the illegal activities of Willy Ong.
In a follow-up hearing next month, the panel has summoned officials from the SEC, the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC), and the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) to determine what Ong’s Empire 999 business firm have been engaged in, the real identity of his business partners, the taxes they paid to the local and national government, and where they sourced their investment money.
“I just hope that Mr. Ong’s businesses are all legit. And he should come out in the open to clear his name. Our panel would give him all the chance to do so. If he won’t, then we and the public may come up with various negative presumptions and conclusions about his business activities,” Barbers said.