A voice in the wilderness is what one senator Ana Theresia “Risa” Navaro-Hontiveros viuda de Baraquel appears as the tyranny of numbers effectively drowned her pleas to deny the application for naturalization of a chinese junket operator by the name of li duan wang. Said chinese junket operator reportedly earns huge commissions for every high roller he brings to the country. Despite his being a chinese, he is engaged in retail business which by law is only for Filipinos. How in hell was this li duan wang able to secure a certificate of live birth showing he is Filipino. He too is a holder of many tax identification cards as if he is paying taxes, and having many of such cards is a violation of our laws and punishable.
It bears mentioning that for foreign nationals applying for Filipino citizenship, one must have resided in the country for at least ten years, must own real properties, must be proficient in english, spanish or any Filipino dialect and demonstrate good character. The applicant had been found to have violated Philippine laws, chiefly, his having obtained a certificate of live birth and having several tax identification cards. It is well to emphasize that the applicant must of good character and not a violator of Philippine laws. These facts are borne by official records according to senator Riza Hontiveros.
Admittedly, there is no conviction of the above-mentioned violations as required by law but the facts of such violations are clearly established and are valid red flags that the majority senators ought not just ignore. The records in previous senate hearings bear the fact that li duan wang has links with Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO). But senators Sherwin Gatchalian JV Ejercito insist that there is no direct evidence linking li duan wang to POGO, despite the fact that he reportedly bought a property where a similar POGO complex owned by Whirlwind Corporation in Porac, Pampanga is erected.
Notably, li duan wang is a casino junket operator and partner of wu duanren, a Chinese fugitive who allegedly financed the construction of the POGO hub in Bamban, Tarlac where the fugitive alice leal guo who was found to be a chinese national bearig the chinese name guo hua ping. Unfortunately, nineteen senators approved the bill for the naturalization of li duan wang as a Filipino citizen.
A petition urging the magical president to veto the bill is gaining ground in a last effort to deny the naturalization of li duan wang. Indeed, it would be the height of hypocrisy if the magical president would approve the naturalization of li duan wang after declaring in his last state of the nation address the order to ban POGOs in the country. Filipinos could not be blamed if they raise the nagging question as to the high is the price to be stubborn.
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