Michael Yang’s elder brother Tony answers questions during the public hearing conducted by the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality on September 24, 2024. (Senate Public Relations and Information Bureau)
MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Risa Hontiveros on Tuesday said she received information that one of the brothers of former presidential economic adviser Michael Yang could be a foreign agent.
Yang was a central figure in the Pharmally scandal during the Duterte administration while his brothers Tony and Hongjiang were tagged into the Philippine offshore gaming operator (Pogo) mess. However, it was unclear who among the Yang brothers Hontiveros was referring to.
Speaking at the Senate panel on the women’s probe on Tuesday, Hontiveros said she wants her committee and the Philippine government to have direct communication with She Zhejiang.
She is a confessed Chinese spy and a central figure in Al Jazeera’s documentary about China’s agents.
In the documentary, She confessed that Chinese spies abound in the Philippines like him who are members of the Chinese Ministry of State Security. Among them, he said, is a certain Guo Hua Ping who is believed to be dismissed Bamban Mayor Alice Guo.
The documentary also showed a Chinese ID with what appears to be a picture of a younger Guo. Her address in Fujian turned out to be the local office of the Chinese Communist Party.
“I just want to make this on record. The reason why this is important to me is this: I have persuasive information that the file of at least one Yang brother is with She, confirming that Yang brother as a foreign agent,” Hontiveros said.
“That’s why we must establish communication with She through the Thai government under the Mutual Assistance Treaty because it seems like our entire government, not only us in the legislative, but even you in the Executive, may get important information that could be used to protect our government against foreign covert operations,” she added in Filipino.
Hontiveros’ office tried to request, through the Philippine embassy in Thailand, that She be interviewed, but it was not granted due to diplomatic reasons.
She is currently under strict surveillance in a Thai prison, restricting his communication channels with the outside world.
READ: Hontiveros: Yang siblings’ ‘deep ties‘ to Pogos, syndicates exposed