The House quad committee has lifted the contempt order against Katherine Cassandra Ong, the 24-year-old representative of a raided Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) hub in Porac, Pampanga, earlier this year, after nearly four months of detention.

Ong, a key figure in the POGO scandal, was first detained in the House of Representatives on 26 August after repeatedly snubbing congressional summons. She was turned over by the Bureau of National Investigation (NBI), which held custody of her following her arrest in Indonesia with former Bamban mayor Alice Guo’s sister, Sheila Guo.

Ong is the “girlfriend” of Wesley, the Guos’ brother. Alice, Sheila, and Wesley Guo fled the country at the height of the crackdown on the illegal industry.

In September, Ong was again cited in contempt and transferred to the Correctional Institute for Women (CIW) in Mandaluyong City, a jail facility for women convicts, where she remains incarcerated.

As the quad committee wrapped up its 13th hearing for the year late Thursday, panel co-chair Stephen Paduano announced that Ong’s camp had appealed for the lifting of her contempt, citing her medical condition.

Ong had earlier requested a “friend” to accompany her to the CIW as she suffered “severe mental breakdowns and anxiety attacks” and was in a “state of severe depression.”

"The doctors of the CIW and the House of Representatives confirmed that she is not fit to attend and withstand the congressional hearings. With this, Mr. Chairman, I move that we lift the contempt order for Miss Cassandra Ong," Paduano said, a motion that committee chairman Ace Barbers approved.

Barbers then ordered that the CIW and Ong's lawyers be informed of their decision.

Ong's lawyer, Ferdinand Topacio, who has severely criticized the quad committee, welcomed the decision.

"We are thankful that the spirit of the season has permeated their souls," he told Daily Tribune.

Ong has been at the center of the POGO controversy and has been subjected to intense scrutiny in both House and Senate investigations that unearthed extensive dealings and connections between the offshore industry, illegal drug syndicates, crimes, and unlawful acquisition of land in the country.

Ong was the authorized representative of Lucky South 99 Corp. and a stakeholder in Whirlwind Corp., which leased land to the former.

Lucky South was originally posed as a business process outsourcing company in 2019, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission. It was later discovered that it was engaged in activities beyond those permitted for a BPO.

After reclassifying itself as a POGO, Lucky South was raided by the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) in June, where 160 foreign nationals, mostly Chinese, were apprehended.

The operation was prompted by reports of criminal activities, such as torture and scams, involving Lucky South.

Given her age, lawmakers believe that Ong may be posing as a dummy and even offered her witness protection. Ong vehemently denied being a dummy. She is currently facing mounting criminal charges, including qualified human trafficking, a non-bailable offense.

Meanwhile, the panel also lifted the contempt order against Alice Guo and Tony Yang, a Chinese businessman and the brother of Michael Yang, former legal economic adviser to then-president Rodrigo Duterte.

Guo and Yang both earned the ire of the panel for “lying” and “evasiveness” in answering lawmakers’ queries about their dealings in POGOs.

Guo is currently detained for her various criminal charges, including qualified human trafficking, while Yang is in the custody of the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission. He is sued by the NBI for falsification of public documents, perjury, and violation of a 1936 law that requires judicial authority before any person can use an alias, except as a pseudonym for literary purposes.

The quad committee likewise lifted the contempt order against various personalities, except Duterte’s former spokesperson, Harry Roque, who evaded the House’s arrest and fled to the United Arab Emirates.