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LONE, STRONG OBJECTION Chinese businessman Li Duan Wang’s Filipino citizenship is close to being realized after the Senate approved a bill granting his naturalization despite strong opposition from Sen. Risa Hontiveros. The senator says Li is a close associate of Wu Duanren, shown in this photo provided by her office, who is an alleged Chinese fugitive and financier ofthe gaming hubs that were raided in Tarlac and Pampanga last year. —Photos from Niño Jesus Orbeta

MANILA, Philippines — Three of the 19 senators who had voted to grant Filipino citizenship to a Chinese businessman on Wednesday defended their position over the strong objection of Sen. Risa Hontiveros, the sole opponent of the measure.

Senators JV Ejercito and Sherwin Gatchalian, who had exposed the links of dismissed Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo and other personalities to Philippine offshore gaming operators (Pogos), said there was no direct evidence linking businessman Li Duan Wang to Pogos.

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Senate President Francis Escudero said he respected Hontiveros’ right to raise her concerns on the passage of the proposed law, but it would not prevent other senators from voting based on their own evaluation of any bill.

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“Not everybody agrees to support every proposed bill. That’s why we have democracy. The majority of those who did not agree with her has decided,” Escudero said.

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The Office of the Solicitor General (OSG), which is actively dealing with issues related to Pogos, on Wednesday said it will not get involved in Congress’ move to grant Philippine citizenship to Li, unless its opinion is formally sought, according to Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra.

Data released by the BSP on Tuesday showed the public sector’s foreign borrowings from July to September this year went up by 36 percent from the $2.81 billion in the same period last year.

The federal and state governments’ tax revenue reached a total of 86.2 billion euros ($93.54 billion) last month, according to the ministry’s monthly report.

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“If the intention to grant citizenship will be through judicial naturalization, the OSG will represent the interest of the state and will ensure that the petitioner complies with all legal requirements, including possession of good moral character,” Guevarra told the Inquirer.

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The Senate last Monday voted 19-1 to approve on third and final reading House Bill No. 8839, authored by Albay Rep. Joey Salceda, making Li a naturalized Filipino.

In addition to Gatchalian, Ejercito and Escudero, the other senators who approved the bill were Nancy Binay, Pia Cayetano, Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, Jinggoy Estrada, Christopher “Bong” Go, Loren Legarda, Imee Marcos, Robinhood Padilla, Aquilino Pimentel III, Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr., Francis Tolentino, Raffy Tulfo, Joel Villanueva, Cynthia Villar, Mark Villar and Miguel Zubiri.

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On Tuesday, Hontiveros asked President Marcos to veto Li’s naturalization.

She said that Li was a casino junket operator and partner of Wu Duanren, a Chinese fugitive who allegedly financed the construction of the Pogo hub in Bamban. Duanren also partly owned Whirlwind Corp., which bought the property where a similar Pogo complex in Porac, Pampanga, was constructed.

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Hontiveros insisted that “close associates of big-time Pogo actors should not be allowed to become Filipinos.”

Following a ban on Pogos ordered by President Marcos last year, the OSG has focused on canceling fraudulently obtained birth certificates by foreign nationals linked to Pogos and the forfeiture of their illegally acquired assets.

It filed a petition canceling Guo’s birth certificate in the Tarlac City Regional Trial Court on July 5, 2024.

Background check

Gatchalian said on Wednesday that his office conducted its own background check on Li after Hontiveros claimed that the Chinese national had ties to Wu.

Gatchalian and Hontiveros led a Senate inquiry into the illegal activities connected to the Pogo business.

“What’s important here is that first of all, [Li] has no derogatory reports. There are no unpleasant reports about this person,” Gatchalian said in a Zoom media briefing.

“Secondly, he was able to complete all the (documentary) requirements. When he submitted them to the Senate, the Senate evaluated the documents again and found that everything was in order,” he said.

He said the senators even directed Li to submit other documents after Hontiveros said the Chinese businessman was an associate of Wu.

‘Negative’

According to Gatchalian, the Senate justice and human rights committee, then chaired by Senate Majority Leader Francis Tolentino, sought reports from the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency, the National Security Council and the International Criminal Police Organization on Li’s character.

All three issued separate certifications indicating that Li was not a subject of any “negative reports.”

“And based on the committee’s investigation, there’s no direct links (between Li and Pogos),” Gatchalian stressed.

Ejercito said Undersecretary Gilbert Cruz, executive director of the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission, which has led the anti-Pogo raids, had also cleared Li of involvement in Pogos.

He said Cruz informed him that Li, who had been using the name Mark Ong, was actually a casino junket operator.

“That is the information that they have,” Ejercito told the Inquirer. “We also did our research before signing the committee report.”

“Based on the information, he has been residing in the Philippines for several years now and his children are studying in exclusive Chinese schools (in Metro Manila), which are strict and do not usually accept transferees,” he added.

Longtime resident

According to him, Li is an “active member” of both the Philippine Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the Federation of Filipino Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry, and is also a fire brigade volunteer.

“If he was here for just a few years, then he might really be part of the Pogo group that entered during its peak. But he has been residing in Manila for several years now,” he said.

There are several ways to acquire Filipino citizenship by administrative naturalization, under Republic Act No. 9139; judicial naturalization pursuant to Commonwealth Act 473; and legislative naturalization.

Under RA 9139, or “The Administrative Naturalization Law of 2000,” the petition shall be filed with the Special Committee on Naturalization, which is chaired by the Solicitor General. The committee has the power to approve, deny, or reject the application.

Under legislative naturalization, Congress may enact a law that can grant Filipino citizenship to an alien.

In 2023, basketball player Justin Donta Brownlee was granted citizenship by way of House Bill No. 6224 for his contribution to the country’s national basketball team.

Judicial naturalization requires certain criteria to be fulfilled to become a naturalized Filipino, including an age requirement of 21 or older at the date of the naturalization hearing and continuous Philippine residency of at least 10 years.

A fact sheet attached to Salceda’s bill said that Li, a native of Fujian, China, has been living in the Philippines since 1991 and had an “ardent desire” to become a Filipino citizen.

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“Mr. Wang Liduan clearly possesses character traits of a true Filipino: loving, generous, respectful, ethicalmaswerte, loyal, optimistic, persevering and eager to help communities, among others,” it said. —with a report from Inquirer Research

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