Marcos urged: Veto Filipino citizenship for Chinese linked to POGO

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SENATE Deputy Minority Leader Risa Hontiveros yesterday appealed to President Marcos Jr. to veto the measure which grants Filipino citizenship to Chinese Li Duan Wang, who has alleged links to illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators and other irregularities.

In an interview with radio dzBB, Hontiveros insisted that Li has a highly questionable background, more so when she found out that he has a connection with Duanren Wu, the alleged brains behind the POGO hub raided in Porac, Pampanga.

Last January 27, the Senate passed on third and final reading House Bill No. 8839 under Committee Report No. 216 which granted Filipino citizenship to Li, with a vote of 19 in favor, one against, with no abstentions.

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Hontiveros voted against the measure, saying that she could not “in good conscience vote to grant” citizenship to Li due to his connections to illegal POGOs and the Philippine JinJiang Yuxi Association, an alleged part of the united front of the Communist Party of China, among others.

Hontiveros said she has nothing against her colleagues in the Senate as they have their own reasons for approving the proposed measure, but added the many “red flags” that Li had should have been taken into consideration.

“Pero sa akin naman, ang dami niyang red flags na at the very least ay dapat iginalang po namin ang proseso. Kaya ako’s nananawagan na i-veto po nila kung sila ay seryoso sa pag-ban sa POGO, kung sila’y seryoso sa soberenya natin lalo na visa-a-vis sa Tsina. I-veto po itong citizenship bill kay Li Duan Wang (For me, Li has many red flags that at the very least we should have respected the process. That’s why I am calling [on the President] to veto the measure if he is serious in totally stopping POGO operations, if he is seriously considering our sovereignty especially vis-à-vis China. Veto this [Filipino] citizenship for Li Duan Wang),” Hontiveros said.

She said granting Filipino citizenship to Li would also grant him the rights and privileges enjoyed by Filipinos, including the right to acquire real estate properties.

She said it was for the same reason dismissed Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo — who was later found to have faked her birth records to acquire Filipino citizenship — managed to run for office and own properties in the country.

Hontiveros earlier called on her colleagues to deny the naturalization of Li for his alleged links to the illegal POGO industry.

She also said that Li, who uses the Filipino name Mark Ong, represented himself as a Filipino in the Articles of Incorporation and By-Laws of Avia International Club which is associated with the Yatai Spa, which is connected to confessed Chinese spy She Zhijiang.

She said Li also has several taxpayer’s identification numbers on his Bureau of Internal Revenue identification card in JuanCare, a foundation reportedly established by Li.

She said Li’s loyalty will be questionable if he is granted Filipino citizenship.

Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian said the majority of senators approved the naturalization of Li since he has no derogatory records or involvement in illegal activities based on documents presented by the Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights coming from the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency, National Security Council, and even from the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol).

Gatchalian said it does not necessarily follow that foreigners are granted Filipino citizenship due to their outstanding contributions to the country as their number of years of stay in the country is one of the factors in approving their naturalization.

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