‘No link’: Special envoy explains photo of Marcos, first lady with Ong

Katherine Cassandra Li Ong, an incorporator of Whirlwind Corporation which leased land to a Philippine offshore gaming operator in Porac, Pampanga, has been officially turned-over to the House of Representatives. An arrest order for Ong was released last August 21 after she was cited for contempt by the quad-committee, for refusing to attend the hearings. —Contributed photo

MANILA, Philippines — A special envoy of the Marcos administration sought to dispel speculations arising from a photo that recently surfaced showing President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and first lady Liza Araneta-Marcos with a group of people in a restaurant that included Katherine Cassandra Li Ong, one of the personalities under investigation and arrested last week for connections to a raided Philippine offshore gaming operator (Pogo).

Benito Techico, Manila’s special envoy for trade and tourism to China, said the photo was taken at a Pasay City restaurant sometime in 2020—when Marcos was not yet elected President—and was the result of a casual request by the restaurant owner on behalf of a group of other diners who wanted a souvenir shot with the couple.

Techico, who said he was in the same dinner, issued a statement to the press Monday night after Ong’s lawyer, Ferdinand Topacio, showed the group photo in a press conference to suggest that Marcos and Ong knew each other.

No connection

Ong is an incorporator of Whirlwind Corp., a company that leased land to the Pogo operated by Lucky South 99. The gaming hub based in Porac, Pampanga, was raided in June for being an alleged front for criminal activities including human trafficking, cyberscams and torture, among others.

She was arrested in Indonesia and deported last week together with Shiela Guo, sister of dismissed Mayor Alice Guo of Bamban, Tarlac, who had fled the country while facing criminal investigations for her ties to another raided Pogo, this time in her town.

Techico said he came forward to clarify that the President and the first lady had “no connection whatsoever to Ong.”

“After the dinner,’’ he recalled in Filipino, “the restaurant owner introduced to us someone we were not familiar with. This person came in with Chinese companions and asked for a photo with our President [around] 2020. And our President obliged; it’s typical for people to have pictures taken with him. It was that simple. They all left after that.’’

‘So unfair’

The special envoy said the photo was taken some time “after the COVID-19 lockdown” and that other friends of the Marcos couple were present.

Techico said he only found out that Ong was one of the people in the shot after Topacio made it public.

He said he wanted the matter clarified “because our group feels that it’s so unfair to the President,” considering how he had been working hard and yet stories maligning him kept cropping up.

He said Topacio’s accusation was “100 percent contrary to what really happened.’’