Immigration Commissioner Joel Anthony M. Viado revealed on Tuesday, June 10, that there have been attempts to secure the release of Tony Yang, brother of former presidential economic adviser Michael Yang, from Bureau of Immigration (BI) custody.
“There was an attempt to get Mr. Tony Yang released on bail by virtue of a resolution which was drafted and passed during my absence,” Viado said in a statement.
He added, “This was a clear effort to slip this resolution past me. I gave strict instructions to ensure that this resolution is rescinded. It is a fact that I rejected the plea to allow Mr. Tony Yang to be released on bail. It is a fact that it was my decision to keep him in detention while facing judicial processes here in our country.”
After rescinding the resolution, Viado said he received more requests asking that he change his position on Tony Yang who was arrested by the BI and the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3 last year for being an undesirable alien.
The BI had earlier said that Tony Yang misrepresented himself as a Filipino in doing business in the Philippines.
It also said that “Yang has allegedly falsified information on SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) certification of Phil Sanjia Corporation” as well as violated the Social Security Act and the Universal Healthcare Act for the non-remittance of contributions of Filipino employees of Sanjia Steel to the Social Security System (SSS), Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) and Pag-Ibig.”
The BI said that Tony Yang has been under investigation for his involvement in Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) which President Marcos had banned from operating in the country due to their involvement in criminal activities.
“For the record, I stood by my position: Mr. Tony Yang shall remain and still remains in detention,” Viado assured.
However, Viado said he does not know if the case of Tony Yang has anything to do with the smear campaign against him.
“Despite the vilification campaign now being waged against me and the BI, I will not resort to the same squid tactics,” he said.
He also said he has informed Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin C. Remulla on the incident.
It will be up to the secretary of justice “to take the appropriate action,” he added.
