Full-scale probe into Michael Yang-Sammy Uy network sought

By Zaldy De Layola, Philippine News Agency

House Committee on Justice Chair and Batangas 2nd District Rep. Gerville Luistro (House of Representatives of the Philippines/facebook)

MANILA – Batangas Rep. Gerville “Jinky Bitrics” Luistro on Wednesday pressed for a separate and full-scale investigation into the Michael Yang-Sammy Uy network as alleged by former Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV.

Luistro made the call after the House Committee on Justice found that the transactions it tested from Trillanes’ sworn statement matched official records from the Anti-Money Laundering Council.

She said the section of Trillanes’ claims involving alleged payouts and the names tied to them now demands far more than passing mention in a committee hearing.

“Dito sa milyon-milyong payout, may mga pangalan na nabanggit, mga pangalang hindi basta-basta makakalimutan (In the payout involving millions, there were names mentioned, names that cannot just be forgotten). Names like Michael Yang and Sammy Uy,” Luistro pointed out.

“These are not ordinary names, lalo na dahil napakalaking pera ang pinag-uusapan (especially because large amounts of money were involved),” she added.

She said the pattern suggested by Trillanes’ statement goes beyond isolated transactions and points instead to something systematic.

“At dahil dito, dapat magkaroon pa ng mas malalim pa na imbestigasyon. Kailangang tukuyin ang buong lawak ng network na ito, kung sino ang sangkot, paano gumalaw ang pera, at saan ito nagmula (Because of this, there should be a deeper investigation to identify the scope of the network, who are involved, how money is moved and its source),” Luistro said.

She said the April 22 hearing marked the point where Trillanes’ old allegations were no longer being judged as rumor alone but were being measured against official documents.

She noted that the process of checking the annexes of his sworn statement found that 19 randomly selected transactions matched AMLC records.

“Hindi ito tsamba. Hindi coincidence. Ito ay kumpirmasyon (This is not luck nor coincidence. This is confirmation),” Luistro emphasized.

For Luistro, that changed the character of the discussion because allegations once dismissed as gossip were now standing on official ground.

She said that when placed side by side, the SALN record, the AMLC findings and Trillanes’ narrative are now pointing in the same direction.