Ex-Duterte adviser to be invited to hearing

SURIGAO del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers on Sunday said Michael Yang, an alleged drug lord and presidential economic adviser of former President Rodrigo Duterte, will be invited to the next House hearing in connection with the P3billion drug bust in Mexico, Pampanga in 2023.

“This matter has now gone from a simple illegal drug smuggling to a national security concern. We need to establish the link between these companies and Michael Yang, the financier of Pharmally. It is not as simple as it seems. These personalities and their interests are so intertwined and intricately woven in an elaborate multi-layered company structure that resembles a maze deliberately designed to avoid detection and ultimate liability in case the scheme is discovered,” he said.

Barbers , who chairs the House Committee on Dangerous Drugs, further said, “The activities of the other companies have not been unearthed yet but the incorporators have gone into hiding already and have started disposing their assets. There is more than meets the eye. We intend to get to the bottom of this issue in order to find out if indeed the drug bust is just the tip of the iceberg.”

“The connection of alleged drug lord Michael Yang to these drug activities is no surprise. Remember that in the past administration, he was named by a top official of the PNP who was then tasked to investigate illegal drug activities. It was discovered that the one on top of the drug trade was Michael Yang,” he said.

In a series of hearings, Empire 999, the company that owned the warehouse where the drugs were ordered stored, was found to belong to some Chinese nationals who also owned other shell companies, along with other personalities who had been previously linked to anomalous activities under the past administration.

On May 8, Lincoln Ong, the controversial figure in the Pharmally scandal and interpreter of Yang, was found to be an incorporator of a company with links to other companies including Empire 999.

“I always say that we have no problems with Chinese nationals doing legitimate business in our country. But doing these illegal drug activities is another story. We have extended all invitations to these people and observed due process. They never showed up. Even the National Bureau of Investigation could not locate them. There is a saying that flight is indicative of guilt. If they are really innocent, we urge them to come out and explain their roles in the labyrinth they created,” Barbers said.