The House Committee on Justice is facing mounting pressure to launch a dedicated inquiry into the alleged financial connections between Michael Yang and Sammy Uy.
This follows a significant development where official government records appeared to corroborate claims of large-scale, suspicious transactions.
Batangas 2nd District Representative Gerville Luistro emphasized that the investigation must move beyond standard committee discussions to uncover the full scope of what she describes as a “systematic operation.”
The call for a deeper probe was triggered after the committee verified that 19 randomly selected transactions from a sworn statement provided by former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV matched official data from the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC).
Luistro argued that this alignment transforms the allegations from mere hearsay into credible leads.
“Dito sa milyon-milyong payout, may mga pangalan na nabanggit, mga pangalang hindi basta-basta makakalimutan. Names like Michael Yang and Sammy Uy,” Luistro pointed out. “These are not ordinary names, lalo na dahil napakalaking pera ang pinag-uusapan.”
According to Luistro, the consistency between Trillanes’ narrative, Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN) filings, and the AMLC findings suggests a coordinated pattern rather than isolated incidents.
She stressed that the April 22 hearing served as a “turning point” for the legislative inquiry.
“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,” she stated.
The lawmaker maintained that the match between the whistleblower’s annexes and official records cannot be dismissed as a fluke.
“Hindi ito tsamba. Hindi coincidence. Ito ay kumpirmasyon,” Luistro emphasized.
As the House continues its review, Luistro insists that the focus must now shift toward identifying the source of the funds and the exact nature of the network to ensure full accountability.