JUST WHEN FILIPINOS who are eagerly watching one episode after another of what looks more like a never-ending saga on the government’s “purge against crooks,” comes news about a lesser-known POGO personality who managed to leave the country “unnoticed.”
Not until after news broke out about the Pasig Regional Trial Court’s decision convicting former Bamban Mayor Alice Guo for qualified human trafficking.
During the Senate hearing on the proposed budget for the Department of Justice (DOJ), Senator Risa Hontiveros sought an update about Katherine Cassandra Li Ong, for which fellow Senator Sherwin Gatchalian responded.
“Ngayon si Cassandra Li Ong naka-release po siya, so hindi siya [nakakulong],” said Gatchalian, citing information from acting Justice Secretary Frederick Vida.
Just like Guo, Ong is accused of qualified human trafficking in an illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) hub in Pampanga. She is the alleged business associate of the dismissed Bamban Mayor.
COULD NOT BE REACHED
Atty. Ferdinand Topacio, in his capacity as Ong’s legal counsel, admitted that they have not been in contact with her “for some time now,” as she is reportedly at large.
Topacio however maintained that his engagement with Ong as her lawyer “subsists.”
“While we have not been in communication with our client for some time, we are bound by law and the tenets of the legal profession to continue providing her with the best legal services we can render under the circumstances,” Topacio said in a statement.
Ong is supposed to be billeted at the Correctional Institution for Women (CIW) in Mandaluyong City after being cited for contempt. She was released after the term of the 19th Congress expired on June 31.
RED NOTICE REQUEST
Upon hearing the news about Ong’s “vanishing act,” Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) spokesperson Winston Casio claimed that the government has already asked the International Police Organization (Interpol) to issue a “red notice” for the arrest of Ong who is facing heinous crimes in the Philippines.
Aside from Ong who is reportedly spotted in Japan, Casio also hinted at efforts to bring former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque back to the Philippines for the same case — qualified human trafficking.
But for Topacio, the government is using Ong to “divert public attention” from various issues facing the country, including the flood control scandal which involved top government officials — including the President’s first cousin and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez.