Pampanga warehouse with P3-B shabu owned by Chinese, not Pinoys — House panel

A warehouse in Mexico, Pampanga that yielded at least P3 billion worth of shabu was allegedly owned by Chinese citizens and not Filipinos according to an inquiry by the House of Representatives.

During a House Committee on Dangerous Drugs hearing on Wednesday, legislators discovered that the owners of the recently-raided Warehouse Empire999 were Chinese, including a certain Willie Ong.

“They own 55% of Empire 999 Realty Corporation, which is in direct violation of the constitutional limitation of the 60-40 equity,” said Rep. Robert Ace Barbers, committee chairperson, in Tina Panganiban-Perez’s 24 Oras report.

“The SEC [Securities and Exchange Commission] must now cancel their registration and dissolve the corporation. They are not Filipinos. Their Philippine passports must be immediately canceled,” Barbers said.

The House panel also said Ong’s birth was registered late, similar to the case of embattled Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo.

“[The] PSA [ Philippine Statistics Authority ] confirmed his existence, not by a Certificate of Live Birth but by a mere certification allegedly issued by a Local Civil Registrar (LCR) in Meycauayan, Bulacan, dated August 31, 2001. The certification states that one Willie Ong was born there on May 29, 1977,” said Barbers.

According to a PSA representative, “The birth certificate of Mr. Willie Ong loaded in our system is based on the endorsement letter that we received from the former LCR, which was dated August 13, 2003”. 

Ong did not appear before the legislative inquiry as he is believed to have fled the country in October 2023 by using a Chinese passport and a fake identity.

“Cai Qimeng, born on July 24, 1977 departed for Hong Kong on October 10, 2023, the day after we started this investigation. Cai Qimeng's photograph is exactly identical with Willie Ong’s,” Barbers added. 

Meanwhile, Ong was also accused of owning land titles in the country, which violates the Philippine Constitution.

“What the [Land Registration Authority] does in this case would be to file an endorsement with the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) for the forfeiture of the properties,” said lawyer Salvalente Elizade.

“Kailangang may kaso sa court. However, we commit right now that we will monitor the properties,” said Elizade.

(There needs to be a case in court.)

The OSG said reversion proceedings can be filed.

The House pane also issued a show cause order to Michael Yang, an adviser to former president Rodrigo Duterte, for failing to attend the congressional hearing on the P3-billion drug bust in Pampanga.

Yang was represented instead by his counsel Raymond Fortun during the hearing. Fortun explained that his client is currently overseas in Dubai.—Sundy Locus/RF, GMA Integrated News