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.