Sheila Guo, sister of Alice Guo, and Cassandra Ong, a business partner of the ousted mayor, talks to Indonesian authorities. (File photo from PAOCC Usec. Gilbert Cruz)
MANILA, Philippines — Katherine Cassandra Li Ong, an incorporator of a company that leased land to a Philippine offshore gaming operator (Pogo) hub in Porac, Pampanga, is on the way to her detention facility at the House of Representatives.
Santa Rosa City Rep. Dan Fernandez gave this information.
Fernandez, in an online interview on Monday, said that House Sergeant-at-Arms, retired Police Maj. Gen. Napoleon Taas, has already confirmed to lawmakers that Ong will be transported to the House premises.
“Yes, oo. So according to the Sergeant-at-Arms, si Nap, on the way na raw si Cassandra Li Ong sa House of Representatives, and we’ll be hearing ‘yung testimony nya sa Wednesday,” he told reporters.
(Yes. According to the Sergeant-at-Arms, Nap, Cassandra Li Ong is on the way to the House of Representatives, and we’ll be hearing her testimony on Wednesday.)
News of Ong’s transfer from her detention at the National Bureau of Investigation came out after his lawyer, Atty. Ferdinand Topacio, said in a forum earlier that his client is en route to the House.
Ong, along with Shiela Guo — sister of dismissed Bamban, Tarlac mayor Alice Guo — were flown in from Indonesia to the Philippines last Friday, after Indonesian authorities got hold of the two individuals.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) believes the arrest of Ong and Shiela Guo in Indonesia only proves the links between the Pogos in Bamban and Porac.
READ: Arrest of Alice Guo’s sister, Ong in Indonesia confirms Pogo links – DOJ
Ong reportedly holds a 58 percent stake at Whirlwind Corporation, which leased land in Porac to Lucky South 99.
At least 186 foreign and Filipino workers were rescued from the Porac Pogo hub that was raided last June 14 over human trafficking charges.
Meanwhile, the Bamban Pogo hub, which was also raided, was linked to former Mayor Guo as her former company, Baofu Land Development Inc., leased land to Pogo hub operator Zun Yuan.
Alice Guo previously claimed to have divested ownership of Baofu, but the Department of the Interior and Local Government noted that the amount she divested it for — P2.5 million—was “grossly incongruent to her investment on Baufo, which is approximately eight hectares of land.”
Last Friday, the House released an arrest order against Ong, after she was cited for contempt by the quad-committee after failing to show up despite repeated invitations from different panels.