CAGAYAN DE ORO, Philippines — Bureau of Immigration (BI) Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado has asked the Municipal Trial Court (MTC) Branch 7 in Cagayan de Oro City to return custody of Tony Yang to the agency should he be granted bail.

In a statement, Viado said the BI fears that Yang might evade authorities if released from detention.

“We fear that Yang might go into hiding to avoid further legal action,” said Viado. “There is a strong concern that he might abscond if released, knowing that he still has a pending case with us,” he added.

Yang, who reportedly also uses the name Yang Jianxin in his Chinese documents, was arrested in 2024 by the BI’s Fugitive Search Unit and Intelligence Division in coordination with the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 after arriving from Cagayan de Oro.

He is currently detained in Cagayan de Oro, where he faces charges of falsification of public documents, perjury, and violation of the Anti-Alias Law—all bailable offenses.

Yang is also facing a deportation case for undesirability for allegedly misrepresenting himself as a Filipino.

Viado said Yang should be turned over to the BI since the deportation proceedings are still ongoing.

“We believe our concerns are valid given that this is a high profile case and he has many resources to just ‘disappear’,” said Viado. “We earnestly call on the courts to take our plea into account in the interest of justice,” he added.