‘Saan nanggaling yung pera mo?’ Ong quizzed over Whirlwind stake

Katherine Cassandra Ong, incorporator of Whirlwind Corp., attends the hearing of the Senate committee on women on Tuesday, September 24 2024. INQUIRER.net / NOY MORCOSO

MANILA, Philippines — It was puzzling for Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian how  24-year-old Katherine  Cassandra Ong became a majority shareholder of  a company that leased  land to a Philippine offshore gaming operator (Pogo) hub in Porac, Pampanga.

Ong holds a 58 percent stake in the Whirlwind Corporation that leased land to Lucky South 99,  a Pogo hub raided by authorities  last June.

At the  resumption of the Senate committee on women’s probe on Tuesday, Gatchalian presented a  Bureau of Internal Revenue certification, showing that Ong has no record of  tax payments.

“So ang tanong  namin ngayon, saan mo nakuha yang capital para ilagay dito  sa Whirlwind Corporation na bumili ng halos 10 hectares ng lupa sa Porac, Pampanga nag kahalaga ng  P1.2 billion,”  the senator asked.

(So our question now is, where did you get the capital to invest in Whirlwind Corporation, which purchased almost 10 hectares of land in Porac, Pampanga, valued at 1.2 billion?)

“So kung ang portion mo is 58 percent, more or less ang dapat mong ilinabas ay about P600 million. So wala kang tax return, 19-years-old ka ng pumasok dito. So ang tanong namin saan nanggaling yung pera mo?” Gatchalian pressed.

(So if your share is 58 percent, you should have contributed about 600 million. Since you have no tax return and you’re 19 years old, our question is, where did your money come from?)

But senator  got no answer from Ong as she repeatedly invoked her right against  self-incrimination.

Before  this, Ong confirmed that when she was 19 years old, she also started working as a representative of the Lucky South  99 from  2019 to 2023.

She refused to say, however, when she joined Whirlwind where she also serves as concurrent corporate  secretary and treasurer of  the company.

“Mr. chair, regarding sa Whirlwind po, I invoke my right against self-incrimination. May kaso na po kasi sa AMLC (Anti-Money Laundering Council),”  she said, still responding to Gatchalian’s question.

(Mr. Chair, regarding Whirlwind, I invoke my right against self-incrimination. There is already a case with the AMLC.)

But the senator noted there is no AMLC complaint yet filed against  Ong in connection with the Whirlwind  and the Lucky South 99.

This was  confirmed  by Atty. Adrian Arpon, deputy director of  AMLC’s Financial Crimes Investigation Group Investigation and Enforcement Department.

According to  Arpon, a complaint  has been filed against Ong but only in connection with  another  Pogo hub in Bamban town in Tarlac.

For Whirlwind, Arpon said a bank inquiry and freeze might be filed this week or next week.

When Ong continued to invoke his right against  self-incrimination, Gatchalian said he would move  to cite her for contempt at a proper time.

NOTE: The English translations in the article were AI-generated.