Solons say hearings never linked Yang to ex-President Duterte

Michael Yang —Malacañang file photo

MANILA, Philippines — Hearings in the House of Representatives have never linked Chinese businessman Michael Yang to former president Rodrigo Duterte, lawmakers clarified on Tuesday.

During a press briefing at the Batasang Pambansa complex, lawmakers from the House’s Young Guns bloc were asked about a Facebook livestream where Duterte was interviewed by former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque and former Communications secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles.

READ: Quad-committee probe on EJKs, Pogos not aimed at Dutertes – panel

In the interview, Roque asked Duterte for his reaction to Congress allegedly linking Yang to him, in relation to the previous hearings and the looming quad-committee hearing.

Host, not the Congress

According to Taguig Rep. Amparo Maria Zamora, it is the host that insinuated a link between Yang and Duterte—and not Congress.

“It is the host that insinuated about a link, it’s not Congress. Why are we being dragged here when these claims did not come from Congress?  It was the interviewer who linked him—he (Duterte) should question the interviewer, and not us,” Zamora said.

“If there is no link (between the two)—I mean who is Michael Yang to him if there is no link, right? It’s only the host who insinuated. So why are we being dragged here? We are just doing our jobs here and trying to find the truth,” she added.

1-Rider party-list Rep. Ramon Rodrigo Gutierrez said that while he does not want to preempt the quad-committee hearings—or the discussion of the four panels asked to probe the illegal activities linked to Philippine offshore gaming operators (Pogos), the illegal drug trade, and alleged extrajudicial killings (EJKs) in the past administration’s drug war—they have not seen any links to Duterte.

“We have not yet seen any linkages so far to the former president Duterte. One thing is clear, we don’t want to preempt the quad-com but we saw in the (committee on dangerous) drugs (hearing) that Michael Yang’s name was mentioned, in the (committee on) public order, regarding Pogos, Michael Yang was mentioned,” Gutierrez said.

“So there are definitely linkages which is precisely why the quad-comm was formed. But if you are talking (about) the linkages to the former president as insinuated by the host, I don’t think we are ready to answer that. But don’t worry, we are nearing the exciting part,” he added.

If only Yang attended

Zamora also poked fun at former president Duterte’s claims that lawmakers are only talking and not doing anything—noting that Duterte and Michael Yang would have had knowledge of points being raised in the committee hearings had they responded positively to invitations.

Yang was ordered by the House committee on dangerous drugs to attend hearings, to shed light on his businesses’ alleged involvement with firms owning land supposedly used to store drugs. Duterte on the other hand was invited to the House committee on human rights to air his side regarding alleged EJKs in his drug war.

In the same interview with Roque and Angeles, Duterte said he prefers that evidence against him—or linking him to Yang—be filed within the legal parameters so that he can defend against it.

“It seems I and President Duterte are the same since we both talk a lot. If we are all-talk, then what about him? But what I really want to say is that, the evidence is really presented within the right committee […] we are going through the right process,” Zamora said.

“Where is the evidence against Michael Yang? If he (Yang) attended the hearing, the evidence is there, he could have listened to it […] it is not him (Duterte) being implicated there, it is Michael Yang. The evidence and the complaints are within the hearing,” she added.

The quad-comm, which was created by House Resolution (HR) No. 1880 will hold its first hearing on Friday, in Pampanga.  However, prior to the quad-comm, the following committees have already held hearings separately:

• committee on dangerous drugs (chaired by Surigao del Norte 2nd District Rep. Robert Ace Barbers)
• committee on public order and safety (Santa Rosa Rep. Dan Fernandez)
• committee on public accounts (Abang Lingkod party-list Rep. Joseph Stephen Paduano)
• committee on human rights (Manila 6th District Rep. Bienvenido Abante Jr.)

Previously, the quad-comm heads have already clarified that the investigation is not aimed at Duterte or politics for that matter, noting that they just want to resolve issues hounding the country.