Fate of Li Duan Wang’s PH citizenship bid known soon – Palace

CITIZENSHIP. Chinese entrepreneur Li Duan Wang (upper right photo) attends a Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights hearing in Pasay City on Feb. 15, 2024. He is a native of Fujian, the People’s Republic of China who moved to the Philippines in 1991 as a development investor. (File PNA photo by Avito Dalan)

By Ruth Abbey Gita-Carlos, Philippine News Agency

MANILA – President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. is still studying the proposal to grant Filipino citizenship to Chinese entrepreneur Li Duan Wang, Malacañang said on Tuesday.

Presidential Communications Office Undersecretary and Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said Marcos still has three days to consider the proposal.

“Sa ngayon po ay pinag-aaralan ng Pangulo ang patungkol dito sa legislative naturalization ni Li Duan Wang (The President is currently studying the legislative naturalization of Li Duan Wang),” Castro told Palace reporters.

“Hintayin po natin ang magiging desisyon ng Pangulo (Let’s wait for the President’s decision),” he added.

Wang, also known as Mark Ong, allegedly has links to Philippine offshore gaming operator (POGO) activities and questionable personal records.

Senate Deputy Minority Leader Risa Hontiveros in January 2025 opposed Wang’s naturalization bid, presenting evidence linking the applicant to Duanren Wu, a fugitive wanted in China and alleged mastermind of a POGO hub in Porac, Pampanga.

Hontiveros also claimed that Wang is the operator of the 9 Dynasty junket group, which has shared officers with Rivendell, a POGO hub in Pasay involved in illegal activities.

Wang reportedly failed to disclose this information in his naturalization application.

Also in January, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian justified the Senate’s decision to pass a bill granting Filipino citizenship to Wang, saying the Chinese complied with all legal requirements and has no derogatory records.