Sen. Risa Hontiveros. Noy Morcoso/INQUIRER.net
Updated @ 8:19 p.m., Dec. 30, 2024
MANILA, Philippines — Bureau of Immigration (BI) officials attempted to have businessman Tony Yang released on bail, Sen. Risa Hontiveros said in a statement on Monday.
Yang is the elder brother of Michael Yang, the former economic advisor to then-President Rodrigo Duterte. His arrest was said to be “critical” in Congress’ investigation into criminal networks behind Philippine offshore gaming operators (Pogos).
However, Hontiveros said: “I have received reports that there are officials in the Bureau of Immigration who attempted to push for the release on bail of Tony Yang.”
READ: House panel hails arrest of Michael Yang’s brother
“He should stay in detention. If he supposedly needs medical attention, he can be treated, but he should remain under government custody… Will we just let him get away with it?” ” the senator said in a mix of English and Filipino.
In a response Monday afternoon, BI confirmed that an application for Yang’s bail had been filed last Dec. 16. However, the bureau insisted that “approval was not guaranteed.”
READ: BI confirms Tony Yang bail petition, but ‘approval not guaranteed’
Hontiveros also called on the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) to speed up its investigation into Yang’s activities.
“There’s much evidence to prove his abuses of Philippine laws, so we’ll just set him free?” she said.
The senator, who co-chairs the upper chamber’s investigation into Pogos, cited the case of Alice Guo (Real name: Guo Hua Ping), the dismissed Bamban, Tarlac mayor linked to local Pogo hubs who attempted to flee the Philippines but was caught in Indonesia last Sept. 4.
READ: Alice Guo arrested in Indonesia — DOJ, NBI
She stressed, “We have seen how easy it was for Guo Hua Ping to slip out. Do we believe that Tony Yang will follow the law?”
Yang was apprehended and taken into BI’s custody at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) after flying in from Cagayan de Oro City last Sept. 19.
During the Senate hearing on Pogo last Sept. 24, Yang admitted to being a Chinese citizen who had been doing business in Cagayan de Oro City since 1998.
He faces complaints from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Northern Mindanao for falsification of public documents, perjury and violation of a 1936 law that required judicial authority before any person can use an alias, except as a pseudonym for literary purposes.