Michael Yang grilled over links to alleged drug personality

Former presidential economic adviser Michael Yang on Friday was grilled over his supposed links to a Chinese businessman who was allegedly involved in illegal drugs.

During the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee’s fifth hearing on the Department of Health’s use of its COVID-19 funds in 2020, its chairman, Senator Richard Gordon presented several pictures of Yang with a certain Allan Lim.

Allan Lim was claimed to be the same person as Lin Wei Xiong. He was also known as Wen Li Chen.

The senator first showed a picture of Yang’s meeting with President Rodrigo Duterte in 2017, which was broadcast on RTVM.

In the said footage, Yang and Duterte were with Allan Lim.

Gordon showed another picture of Duterte with Yang and Lim. The said picture was taken from a news report.

Yang denied knowing Allan Lim, but he said he knew the man in the pictures by the name of Lin Wei Xiong. He had known him since 2013.

Gordon then presented a document showing that Allan Lim was also known as Wen Li Chen and Lin Wei Xiong who had been profiled as a drug personality.

“In fact, he was the same guy that was charged with involvement in drugs and I can show you the charge sheet,” Gordon said.

According to the document, Allan Lim was connected to the Wen Li Chen Drug Trafficking Syndicate.

He was allegedly involved in “financing and facilitating the importation, transshipment, and local distribution of imported Meth or Shabu, CPECs, and Laboratory Equipment.”

He was charged with a criminal case at the Cavite Regional Trial Court Branch 18. But the case was dismissed due to non-observance of proper marking of evidence and chain of custody rule. The prosecution likewise failed to present “morally convincing evidence.”

Yang said he did not know of the drug allegations against Allan Lim, maintaining that he only knew a person named Lin Wei Xiong.

He also did not confirm that Lin Wei Xiong was the same person in the picture attached to the initial profile of a drug personality.

Yang said he could not identify the face because the picture was "very blurred."

But Senate President Vicente Sotto III was quick to point out that the document shows that Lin Wei Xiong was the same person as Allan Lim.

Paili Holdings

At one point in the hearing, Gordon showed a picture from an online news site where Yang was seen with Allan Lim, Senator Bong Go, Taguig Rep. Alan Peter Cayetano, and other individuals.

Still, Yang maintained that the person in the picture was Lin Wei Xiong and not Allan Lim.

Gordon then asked if Yang and Lin Wei Xiong were affiliated with Paili Holdings.

The former presidential adviser confirmed that Lin Wei Xiong was his business partner in Paili.

He likewise confirmed that a certain Rose Nono Lin was the wife of Lin Wei Xiong.

Rose Nono Lin was reportedly the corporate secretary of Paili Holdings. According to Yang, Rose was a stockholder in the said firm.

At the early part of the hearing, Senator Risa Hontiveros moved to issue a subpoena against Rose Nono Lin. Her motion was approved by the committee.

She said Rose Nono Lin was an incorporator of Pharmally Biological Inc., a sister company of Pharmally Pharmaceutical— the firm that bagged billions worth of government contracts for the procurement of COVID-19-related medical goods.

According to Hontiveros, Lin was also an incorporator of the Full Win or Fu De Sheng Group in the Philippines, which was allegedly chaired by Michael Yang.

Meanwhile, Gordon said Rose Nono Lin was linked to the following companies: Xionwei Phramally Biological, Pai Hong, Paili Estate Group, Paili Holdings, and Power Megamix. — DVM, GMA News