Subic drug haul suspect lived ‘double life’

OLONGAPO CITY – Until he was almost caught smuggling more than 700 kilograms of high-grade shabu out of the Subic Bay Freeport last month, Anthony “Anton” Ang, a Chinese married to a Filipina, was seen as a paragon of virtue in the village where he lived.

Neighbors of Ang on Davidson Street in Barangay West Bajac Bajac here said he was a “quiet man” who did not mingle with them a lot. However, they described him as “very kind to people.”

They said people, especially during Christmas and Chinese New Year, would line up outside his house and he would give them money in white envelopes. Ang, they said, would give away tikoy (Chinese rice cake) during Chinese New Year.

So when news reports came out citing Ang’s alleged involvement in a drug smuggling ring and his attempt to smuggle shabu (methamphetamine hydrochloride) out of the free port, it was like saying, “Santa Claus is a drug smuggler,” a neighbor said.

Conrado Hipolito, the village’s liaison officer, remembered his reaction to the reports and his difficulty reconciling what was being said about Ang and what he thought about Ang, based on his dealings with the Chinese.

“We were watching [television] at the time. When the reporter said there was a certain Mr. Ang, a Chinese, caught trying to smuggle shabu out of the (Freeport), I did not think that it was really the Mr. Ang that I knew. But when his picture and that of his wife, Estrella, was flashed on the screen, I was shocked to realize that it was really him,” he said.

Hipolito said he had been to Ang’s house a few times to fetch the Chinese’s 17-year-old daughter, the top Sangguniang Kabataan kagawad (councilor) in the village.

He said Ang, who is in his early 60s, is a “very simple man, very soft spoken.”

“You would never think that he’d be involved in something like this if you knew him,” said Hipolito.

‘Ukay-ukay’ business

Ang, he said, operated an ukay-ukay (used clothes) store in this city and sold plastic bags in the public market.

Hipolito said it was “common knowledge” among Ang’s neighbors that he runs a business inside the free port, selling ukay-ukay clothes and Ma-Ling (Chinese luncheon meat) on the FSC (Freeport Service Corp.) grounds.

The FSC is a subsidiary of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA), which operates a gasoline station and other income-generating ventures in the free port. It also hosts a yearly Christmas bazaar.

About four years ago, Ang was stopped by personnel of the SBMA’s law enforcement department (LED) after he tried to smuggle out boxes of Ma-Ling.

A source from the SBMA, who asked not to be identified for safety reasons, said one of the LED personnel who stopped Ang was found murdered a few days after the incident.

“This man (Ang) is extremely dangerous because he has contacts everywhere. The syndicate he belongs to will stop at nothing to avenge its losses,” said the source.

Ang used to operate Ding Ho, a Chinese restaurant located at the Royal Duty Free area. The restaurant, famous among locals and businessmen for its cheap Chinese dishes, served as Ang’s office.

“Many people go there, even SBMA officials, everybody. Ang knew people around here, especially those who matter. You’d also see them in his restaurant. It was no secret. Ang would hop from table to table, greeting everybody, making sure they were enjoying themselves,” the source said.

“Even then I knew, and I think it was an open secret in certain circles, that Ang’s underground business was [illegal] drugs. But who cares? Everybody’s happy,” the source added.

SBMA Administrator Armand Arreza, in an earlier interview, said he did not know Ang and he had never met him.

But Arreza, citing information he received on Ang, said the Chinese began working in Subic in 1997, at Royal Duty Free Shop, as a snack yard manager.

“In January 1998, [Ang] opened Ding Ho Restaurant which he operated until mid-2003. He’s a long-time resident of Olongapo City,” said Arreza.

The restaurant had since been operated by a group that included a member of a political family in Zambales.

Arreza said Hua Long International Inc., Ang’s company in whose warehouse the bulk of the drug haul was found on May 28, began operations in January 2004.

Arreza said Ang, using “brokers,” offered an initial bribe of P2 million and another P50 million to SBMA personnel so his cargoes would be “released quietly.” He said the SBMA personnel, whom he did not identify, did not accept the bribe.

Back rent

Henry Levita, the caretaker of the compound where Ang rented a house in West Bajac Bajac, said Ang was “very harmless.”

“He is a family man who takes care of his wife and daughter. At least, that’s how I knew him,” he said.

Levita said he had known Ang since he and his family lived in the compound four years ago. “[But] I never imagined he could be involved in this. On second thought, being the way he is (is) the perfect cover for his other activities,” he said.

Ang, according to Levita, had no vices. “You’d never see him drink with the neighbors, like most people around here do. He did not mingle. There were almost no visitors to his house,” he said.

He said Ang’s routine was ordinary.

In the morning, he would attend to his business in the market and inside the free port. “He’d ride in his van, always with his wife, Estrella. They were always together,” he said.

Levita said Ang had few belongings. “His furniture is very ordinary and cheap. Old, even. His only luxury is an air conditioning unit in the bedroom,” he said.

Levita also said Ang still owed the house owner at least P30,000 in rent and utilities.

“Ang owes at least two months rent plus utilities. When PDEA (Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency) agents searched his house, they damaged the house. Someone has to pay for that. But they’re all gone now, so I don’t know what to tell the owner of this house, he’s in the United States,” said Levita.

Levita had started feeding Ang’s dogs out of pity. “When they (Ang and his family) disappeared, no one was around to take care of them. The dogs could not even bark out of hunger. So I feed them every day,” he said.

Levita believed that Ang had “probably gone back to China to wait until things cool down here.”

PDEA agents broke into Ang’s rented house on June 4, after being issued a search warrant on June 3 by Judge Raymund Viray of the regional trial court in Olongapo City.

Hipolito, who accompanied the agents as a witness, said the PDEA personnel did not find any shabu there. They had barred reporters from covering the search but asked locals, like him, to witness the search.

They padlocked the house afterward, prohibiting anyone from entering the compound’s gate or crossing the police line pending further investigation.

“Mr. Ang’s house is like him – low profile. His furniture is intact. There were other things there that PDEA are still studying. There were documents, too,” said Hipolito. By Robert Gonzaga - Inquirer Central Luzon Desk