Tony Yang —Screengrab from a video posted on the YouTube channel of the Senate
MANILA, Philippines — “You are a Chinese national. You don’t have a Philippine passport, why are you posing as a Filipino?”
Sen. Risa Hontiveros raised the question, partly in Filipino, to Tony Yang, older brother of Michael Yang, presidential economic adviser during the administration of Rodrigo Duterte. Michael Yang was a central figure in the Pharmally scandal.
Tony Yang attended on Tuesday the Senate panel on women’s probe into illegal Philippine offshore gaming operators (Pogos).
Hontiveros had earlier presented before the panel, which she heads, a copy of Tony Yang’s Philippine birth certificate.
“This is your birth certificate here in the Philippines — also [acquired through] late registration. This was registered in 2004. So just 15 or 16 years after you arrived here. That means you were already 34 years old when your birth certificate was registered. You recognize this?” Hontiveros said, speaking partly in Filipino.
Yang, who claimed that he could not speak English and Filipino, answered in Chinese. An in-house interpreter translated it.
“I actually cannot understand English. What I remember is that when I was here, when I was two to three years old, [it was] my grandfather who helped me come up with this birth certificate,” Yang said.
Hontiveros said she believed that Yang’s birth certificate was fake.
She said it might have similar irregularities found on the birth certificates of dismissed Bamban Mayor Alice Guo and Cassandra Ong.
“We will ask the Philippine Statistics Authority to investigate if, like theirs, your Philippine birth cert is also irregular – because it appears the birth certificate is fake. Mr. Yang, as you said, you are a Chinese national. You have no Philippine passport, why are posing as a Filipino?” Hontiveros said.
READ: Hontiveros: Yang siblings’ ‘deep ties‘ to Pogos, syndicates exposed
Yang insisted, however, that he was not aware of such a document, maintaining that it was only processed by his grandfather — “maybe” for him to conveniently establish business in the Philippines.
In her opening statement during the same hearing, Hontiveros alleged that Tony Yang has dipped his hands to Pogos and scam money.
The opposition lawmaker said Oro One, a Pogo associated with Tony, lists him as president.
This allegation fizzled, however, when Tony Yang said he was “unsure” of the existence of such a company.