MANILA – President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has vetoed the proposed measure granting Filipino citizenship to Chinese entrepreneur Li Duan Wang.
Presidential Communications Office’s Undersecretary Claire Castro announced the development on Friday, but the Palace has yet to release a copy of Marcos’ veto message.
Wang’s application for naturalization faced scrutiny due to his alleged connections to Philippine offshore gaming operator (POGO) activities and his dubious personal history.
Wang, also known as Mark Ong, is purportedly the operator of 9 Dynasty junket group, which has shared executives with Rivendell, a POGO center in Pasay that is implicated in illicit activities.
Sen. Risa Hontiveros previously expressed her discontent regarding the decision to grant Li Filipino citizenship, emphasizing that her colleagues should have taken heed of past experiences involving former Bamban, Tarlac mayor Alice Guo, also known as Guo Hua Ping.
“Hindi pa ba tayo natuto sa panloloko ni Guo Hua Ping, alias Alice Guo, o kay Yang Jianxin, alias Tony Yang? Hindi pa ba tayo nadala sa mga abusadong dayuhang nagpanggap na Pilipino para pagkakitaan ang taumbayan at dungisan ang ating mga sistema?” Hontiveros said.
“Susugal pa ba tayo muli sa isang taong ikinubli sa Kongreso ang kanyang mga kaduda-dudang kaugnayan?” Hontiveros added in explaining her vote against the measure.
The senator highlighted that Li is allegedly involved in junket operations and has associations with Duanren Wu, identified as the “big boss” of the raided POGO hub in Porac, Pampanga.
Additionally, Hontiveros noted that Wang operated a business in the same building linked to confessed Chinese spy She Zhijiang, as reported in an Al Jazeera documentary.
She further stated that Wang was associated with the Jinjiang Yuxi Association, which is purportedly part of the Communist Party of China’s united front work, and that he had provided false identification as a Filipino to the Securities and Exchange Commission./PN
