PDEA Davao clears Yang of drugs involvement

THE Davao regional office of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA-11) has cleared Michael Yang, a Davao City-based businessman, of alleged involvement in the illegal drugs trade.

PDEA-11 Assistant Regional Director Behn Joseph O. Tesiorna said during the AFP-PNP press forum on Wednesday, March 27, at The Royal Mandaya Hotel that their investigation into Yang’s alleged links to the illicit drug trade yielded negative results.

“We conducted investigation prior to that information given by Acierto on alleged involvement of Michael Yang pero as far as PDEA is concerned, negative,” Tesiorna said.

Tesiorna said Yang, a former economic adviser to President Rodrigo Duterte, is a legitimate Chinese businessman who owns DCLA in Davao.

He said that when allegations against Yang broke out, the PDEA-11 regional director instructed them to immediately conduct an investigation.

Tesiorna said they reviewed their operations in 2004, when a clandestine laboratory was discovered in Dumoy, Toril and some Chinese nationals were found to have been involved in its operations.

Tesiorna said they checked the documents and coordinated with the operatives who were involved in this operation but there was no trace of Yang’s involvement.

“There was never a mention of a name of Michael Yang but we also would like to emphasize the fact that the Chinese community in Davao City is quite small so there is a possibility that Michael Yang might have known some of those Chinese who are allegedly involved in drug trade but personally for the said person, wala gyud siyay involvement sa illegal drugs industry,” Tesiorna said.

Yang’s name came up after former police officer Eduardo Acierto claimed that President Rodrigo Duterte’s former economic adviser is into illegal drugs trade.

“I’d just want to [say] kung tinood gyud nga naay information si Colonel Acierto (If Colonel Acierto indeed has information), why is it that he just divulged this information now? It should have been done way before when they were still involved in the anti-illegal drug operation,” Tesiorna said.

Tesiorna raised suspicion that the reason why Acierto surfaced now is because of the upcoming midterm elections.

“The motive and the timing are quite suspicious,” he added.