Marcos vetoes naturalization of alleged incorporator of biggest POGO

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Friday vetoed the legislative naturalization of Li Duan Wang, an alleged incorporator of the biggest POGO service provider in the country.

In a Palace press briefing on Friday, Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Undersecretary Atty. Claire Castro quoted Marcos' veto message as saying that he is unable to "ignore the alarming and revealing warnings raised by our relevant national agencies that find the subject grantee’s character and influence to be full of ominous and dire consequences, if not, of a clear and present danger.”

Wang was alleged to be an incorporator of the New Oriental Club 88 Corporation, which was closed in 2019. He is also identified as Mark Ong, according to Ivan Mayrina’s post on X (formerly Twitter).

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr vetoes legislative naturalization of Li Duan Wang also known as Mark Ong, a Chinese businessman who Sen Risa Hontiveros earlier said is an incorporator of the biggest Philippine offshore gaming operator (Pogo) service provider in the country.

— ivan mayrina (@ivanmayrina) April 11, 2025

Senator Risa Hontiveros, the lone senator who opposed granting Philippine citizenship to Wang, said that though the company was closed in 2019, its articles of incorporation were amended in 2020 so the firm can operate like a "Special Class of BPO" to operate as a service provider for offshore online gaming. She said the company has been active as of last year.

READ: Why Chinese man linked to POGO got Senate nod for PH citizenship

Castro said the President deemed that ignoring warnings from government agencies about Wang would be tantamount to shunning his responsibility to the Filipino people.

"Ang Filipino citizenship ay isang pribilehiyo at hindi ipinamimigay nang basta-basta. Hindi rin ito dapat gawing kasangkapan upang pagbigyan ang pagsulong ng mga kaduda-dudang interes (Filipino citizenship is a privilege and not given away on a whim. It should also not be used as a tool to advance suspicious interests)," Castro said.

For the President, Castro said, granting Filipino citizenship was not just about extending legal rights, but a matter of opening doors to the country's history, race, and heritage. "Kaya dapat ang tatanggap nito ay sumasailalim din sa mga adhikain ng ating bayan (That is why those who receive Filipino citizenship should adhere to the country's aspirations).

Not convinced

House Bill 8839, or the proposed Act Granting Philippine Citizenship to Li Duan Wang, was approved by the House of Representatives on final reading in September 2023, and sent to the Senate requesting concurrence that same month.

A total of 19 senators voted in favor of granting Philippine citizenship to the Chinese businessman despite the "red flags" raised by Hontiveros.

GMA News Online has requested comment from Albay Representative Joey Salceda, one of the authors of House Bill 8839, and Senator Francis Tolentino, chair of the Senate justice and human rights committee and sponsor of the measure in the Senate, regarding the President's veto. They have yet to respond as of posting time.

Asked about the proposed measure's support from majority of senators, Castro said, "Nais ipaalam ng Pangulo na kung may mga kaduda-dudang interes [ang grantee] at hindi naman po bingi ang ating Pangulo para dinggin at pakinggan kung ano iyong kaniyang mga nakukuhang mga data or facts about supposed to be grantee. So kung nagkaroon man ng desisyon ang Kongreso na patawan or bigyan ng Philippine citizenship itong si Li Duan Wang, hindi po kumbinsido ang Pangulo," Castro shared.

(The President would like to inform if there is doubtful interest [in a grantee] and our President is not deaf to not listen to the data or facts he hears about the supposed grantee… If there was a decision by the Congress to provide or give Philippine citizenship to Li Duan Wang, the President is not convinced.)

'Necessary' move

In a statement on Friday, Hontiveros welcomed the veto, saying it was a "necessary" move that shows the government’s commitment to protect Filipino citizenship.

Hontiveros said Wang’s multiple taxpayer IDs, supposed links to illegal POGOs, and alleged affiliation with a group that is reportedly tied to the Chinese Communist Party reflects bad faith on his part.

"These are not small issues or minor technicalities. Rewarding Wang with Filipino citizenship, despite these red flags, would have sent the wrong message and set a dangerous precedent," she said.

"I firmly believe that rejecting Li Duan Wang's application is a firm stand for our national interest," she added.

In an earlier interview, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian said has a business in the Philippines and that there were no derogatory reports about Wang. He added there was no concrete evidence that would prove Wang's alleged ties to POGO, Gatchalian said.

Citing the profiling of the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC), Senator JV Ejercito earlier said Wang has been staying in the Philippines for a long time and that his children are studying here. Ejercito added that Wang was an active member of both Chinese and Filipino-Chinese chambers of commerce in the Philippines. — VAL/ VDV, GMA Integrated News